


Hell Bent On Love

by afallenblackrose



Series: Hell Bent On Love Tales [1]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-05-26 08:50:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 57,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6232240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afallenblackrose/pseuds/afallenblackrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Serena was a hired assassin, until one night when a job of hers goes horribly wrong. Due to the sins she's committed she is to spend an eternity in hell. But when the Lord of the Underworld becomes interested in her, is it really hell?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Only the Good Die Young

I really hated my job.

Wait, let me clarify, I really hated my job tonight. I couldn’t help but think as I looked at myself in the mirror. Black lace lingerie was not my best friend, if anything it just made me want to finish my job sooner. I hated being in anything skimpy, especially around a vicious bloodthirsty pervert. It was a good thing I wouldn’t have to be in this outfit for too long, or else I would have never accepted this job in the first place. My breasts were pushed up and together very uncomfortably for me, but appealing to any man who walked by. I scoffed at my appearance. Why couldn’t he be like my usual assignments? An overpaid top businessman walking in a deserted parking lot alone, and with one bullet, wham! A dead man. And I was thirty thousand dollars richer.

But no, he just had to be one of _those_ businessmen, you know the type, the guy who doesn’t go anywhere without a bodyguard or two around him. This guy, Diamond Chambers, knew that he was on every hit list in the country. The only way to get to him was by enticing him into bed. A lot of powerful men were killed in between the sheets. Not my preferred style, as I mentioned earlier. But I needed the money. Times were tough, and my job as a secretary at a doctor’s office just wasn’t covering my bills _and_ my mother’s hospital bills.

I reached into my thigh high black-heeled stiletto boots and pulled out the gun I had hidden there. I just needed one shot, one clean shot preferably to the guy’s brain and then I would be able to put my clothes back on. But how long would I have to entice him before I lulled him into unsuspecting ease? I sighed and stashed the gun back in my boot. I had to get out of this bathroom, or else he would think something was wrong and would come check on me. I took one last glance at myself in the mirror wishing it didn’t have to come to this.

I opened the door to the bathroom and stood with one hand on the doorframe and the other on my waist. A man with platinum blonde hair, it almost looked silver, watched me with hungry eyes. I didn’t notice then, that there was a certain glint in his eyes that hinted at what was to come. Diamond’s eyes roamed over every inch of me with interest and lust.

“You look breathtaking,” he commented, his voice husky. He strode forward and placed his hands on my waist bringing me closer to him and his lower extremities. Oh, he was turned on all right. I was going to be sick. “Let’s continue over by the bed, shall we?” I smiled my most sexy smile at him and he led me to the king sized bed. He placed me in the center and climbed on top of me. Diamond crashed his lips down onto mine with a hunger so feverent that I could barely catch my breath. I tried to entwine my hands into his hair but he grabbed them and placed them above me.

_Click. Click._

My eyes widened in surprise and shock. I tried moving my hands but they were handcuffed to the bed. Diamond’s lips left mine and I finally saw his face. He was smirking and the glint I should have noticed before was in his eyes. It was a malicious glint, a very malicious glint. Something was wrong. This was not part of the plan. At least, not _my_ plan.

“Did you think, I didn’t know?” He whispered into my ear. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end. This was definitely _not_ good.

“Know what?” I asked innocently. Something dug into my skin. That wasn’t the answer he was looking for.

“Don’t be stupid,” he replied. “I know what you are, and I know what you were hired to do to me tonight. And it wasn’t a good fuck.” He lowered himself down to my boots and started to unzip the one where I had hidden my gun. Oh shit….

He came back up with my gun in his hands. I pretended not to know how that got into my boot, but he wasn’t buying it and something dug into my skin again. Only this time a flash of searing pain went through me. The bastard broke my skin and was drawing blood. He was going to kill me. I continued to look at him, making sure that no emotion passed across my face. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream in pain. If he knew what I was, then he must have known that I had gone through all the training to deal with torture and even death. So why was he prolonging it? Unless…I bit back a groan as I realized the true predicament I was in.

I was in my under things. I was drop dead sexy, according to him and I had felt his desire for me. I _still_ felt his desire for me pressed against my stomach. What had he said before about how I had been hired for a good fuck? So much for being able to put my clothes back on before things went too far. I looked at him and he was grinning like a maniac. He knew that I knew what he was going to do. He placed my gun on the night table beside the bed and began to take off his shirt. I turned my head to the gun on the night table. There had to be a way for me to get free before he placed himself inside of me. I debated my options, and they all would have probably worked if it weren’t for these damn handcuffs.

I looked back at Diamond who was working on the zipper of his pants. There had to be a way. I was a hired assassin for crying out loud, I didn’t give up and I never missed my mark. There had to be something I was missing. I twisted my hands anxiously in the handcuffs. There had been a point in my life when my wrists would have been able to slip through them with no problem. But to do that now, it was going to take more time than I had.

I watched as Diamond’s boxers hit the ground. This couldn’t be happening. His hands were on my hips, playing with the hem of my black panties. With what seemed to be ease, he slipped them down my legs and tossed them on the floor. I braced myself for what was to come next.

But it didn’t happen. Instead, Diamond came back up and with the knife he had used to plunge into me cut the straps of my bra. They fell away and he placed his hands to remove the fabric that still clung to my breasts.

“What was the point?” I whispered.

He smiled, “The point is that if I’m going to have you, I want to see all of you naked beneath me. I want to dominate you, fully, before I kill you.” The acid and bile churning in my stomach began to rise up my throat. I was going to be sick. This hadn’t been the way I thought I was going to go.

Diamond placed his lips on mine and moved his mouth. I lay there frozen against his lips. I wasn’t going to react. The only thing I could do was pray that this would go fast…. or move him along by angering him. I frowned and thought that over as he moved his lips down my neck to my collarbone. He had handcuffed my hands but hadn’t done anything about my legs. I knew how to kick and use my bodyweight to push someone off of me. If I was able to kick him off the bed he would probably just concern himself about putting himself in me, getting off and then killing me. Or if I were lucky he would be so angry he would just kill me straight away. I decided that this was my best option and waited for him to lower himself further.

At the moment he was concerned with my breasts. He was biting and kissing them, trying to get a rise out of me, but I just lay there. I wasn’t going to react, even though I had something curling in my stomach as he continued his efforts. I couldn’t believe that I was actually enjoying what he was doing to me. How could I like he what he was doing? I knew that after he was done with me, he would kill me. I was going to be murdered. Fury began running through my veins and in result I used my legs and pushed Diamond, who was fondling my breasts, upwards.

He was caught off guard and with the momentum fell backwards off the bed. His lower half was still on the bed but it was hanging very close to the edge. When he righted himself there was anger in his eyes.

“Very well, if that’s how you want things to be,” he growled and spread open my legs and before I could say anything he pushed himself inside me. Surprisingly it hurt and it wasn’t because I was a virgin. No, I’d been with guys before, but it was because he had entered me so abruptly. He was moving, fast, and his eyes were on mine. My mouth was clenched shut and I met those damn violet eyes. They were full of victory. This had gone exactly as planned for him. Yes, I might have tried to stop him, but he still got what he wanted in the end.

“Mhm,” he collapsed on top of me after he came for a third time. “That was amazing. You were amazing. Thank you, my dear whore.” He cupped my face with one hand. The other had disappeared to the nightstand.

“You’re despicable.”

“Only words, love,” he said his other hand coming into view. He ran the knife he now clutched against my skin. “Now, how to kill you? I could cut at your stomach. I could cut at your legs, or I could cut your wrists and make it look like you committed suicide. Hm…” the knife skimmed over my right wrist. “I quite like that idea.” The knife pressed harder into my skin and before I knew it, he slashed it quickly. Blood began to drip onto my head and then ran down my temple. He smiled evilly at the result and quickly slashed the other wrist. The blood that was dripping now became a steady stream.

“You son of a bitch,” I rasped. “One day you’ll die a worse death than this. I can promise you that.”

“Interesting last words, love,” he smiled down at me. “But you wasted your breath saying them. Good-bye Serenity.” My eyes were heavy and somehow Diamond had become all blurry. I thought it was because there was blood clouding my vision but there was another reason. I let my eyes close and knew that I wouldn’t be opening them again. I was dead.

Or at least that’s what I thought.


	2. The Masters of Hell

When I opened my eyes, I was instantly surprised. I hadn’t expected to ever open my eyes again; I thought I had been dead. Diamond had slashed my wrists to kill me; I had felt the blood dripping down my arms. I had…wait, I looked closely at my wrists noticing that they weren’t bleeding; in fact, they didn’t look like they had been cut at all. What was going on here? I looked up and was surprised by my surroundings.

This was _not_ Diamond’s hotel room. Where exactly was I? My eyes scanned the rock cut walls for a sign that would inform me of where I had woken up, but they gave away nothing. I got up from my position on the floor and walked towards the wall. This was a different kind of rock than from what I was used to seeing. Where in God’s name was I? But that wasn’t the only thing that was different about me either. I was fully clothed. I looked down and stared. Someone had dressed me in a simple black spaghetti strapped dress. My feet were also in black stilettos. What the hell? The sound of clacking alerted me to the arrival of someone in the room that I was in. I turned around and instantly felt more questions enter my mind.

Standing behind me was a tall woman with long curly brunette hair, which was up in a ponytail, and she was wearing a deep green dress that looked like it had come out of a Victoria’s Secret catalogue. But the woman had the curves and the chest to fill out the dress she was wearing. Simple rose stud earrings were in her ears, she was also wearing a pair of green stilettos, and her green eyes looked at me calmly as if she was expecting me to look…well, surprised at the appearance.

“I don’t wish to alarm you,” she said calmly, her voice coming out like silk. “I remember how it was the first time I woke up in this room. It was very nerve wracking. You don’t know where you are, and you’re not sure what is going on. But I can assure you, Serenity that you are not in any danger. You are save here.”

“H-how do you know my name?” I stuttered, surprised by her speech. “Who are you? And where am I?”

She smiled lightly, “My name is Lita, and the reason I know your name Serenity is because you are dead and are currently in the waiting room of hell.”

My eyes instantly widened, and if I had been a weaker sort of girl, I would have passed out in shock. But I was born strong willed and held my ground. The words that the woman, Lita she said her name was, repeated in my head. So it hadn’t been my imagination. Diamond really did kill me. But the question was why was I in hell? Okay, I’ll admit that I hadn’t been a devoted Christian over the last few years, and sure, the business of killing people for money was probably a bit spotty, but were these deeds so insidious to earn me a place in hell? I hadn’t thought so, but apparently, I was wrong.

“You said something that I was in the waiting room of hell?” I asked after a few moments. Lita glanced at me surprised by my reaction. “What exactly does that mean, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Mind you asking?” Lita repeated. “Of course I don’t mind you asking, but shouldn’t you be freaking out right about now? Aren’t you, I don’t know, surprised and alarmed that you’re in hell?”

I simply shrugged, “Considering the things I’ve done, I’m not really surprised, even though I had hoped that my actions were justifiable enough to land me a spot above. But maybe I was thinking too highly. But you said that I’m in a waiting room?”

“Yes, you are in a waiting room. In a few minutes a horn will sound and I will be instructed to come and take you and the others to the main hall where the masters of hell will decide what to do with you. Don’t be alarmed, the masters may seem cruel and treacherous looking, but really they are rather sweet.” She smiled and seemed lost in reminisce. If we had been good friends I would have asked what her relationship with one of the masters was. It was obvious by the look on her face that she was involved with one of them. We lapsed into silence after that, but I was more than thankful for it. So much had happened that I needed time to process everything. My life had been normal, except for the occasional ‘job’, but now here I was about to be sentenced…in hell. Talk about a weird turn of events, and I couldn’t help but growl at the events that had lead me here.

Diamond freaking Chambers had killed me. But the two of us would be the only ones to know that he had murdered me, which was why he had cut my wrists. He would get off with my murder, because he made it look like a suicide. If my sentence wasn’t too horrible, I would try to go back up to the world of the living and haunt him and make him regret what he had done to me for the rest of his life. I would make sure that he would be too damn afraid of his own fucking shadow.

A light sound that sounded like a swan infiltrated through the room. Lita looked up and ushered me to follow her. Walking close by her, we walked out of the room and into a larger hallway that was lined with rocks that were similar to the ones that were in the room I was in. Along the hallway, she signaled me to stop and she ducked into another room. When she came out, a blonde who could have passed for my sister came out behind her. She looked at me with sapphire blue eyes, and she was shocked to see me. She was also wearing a black spaghetti strapped dress.

“Serenity this is Mina,” Lita said gesturing to the blonde. “She is also going to be judged with you. Mina this is Serenity. Come on, follow me, the masters don’t care to be kept waiting.” We began to follow the brunette, but we held a quiet conversation on our way to the masters.

“What did you do to wind up in hell?” I broke the ice first; I didn’t care for the quiet too much and decided that we needed to pass the time.

“I-I, well, I was a hired escort and slept around with a lot of married men. You?”

“I was a hired assassin and killed a lot of CEOs.”

“Really?” Mina asked stunned.

“Yeah.”

“But then what happened? Did someone hire someone else to kill you before you could kill him or her? Or did something else happen?”

“The latter. I was on a job earlier, and he was a big shot client. Bigger than what I’ve killed before, and unlike my others he had to be lulled into a false sense of security. So I dressed up as an escort,” I sent a sympathetic look to my blonde companion. “Enticed him to take me back to his room and was just about to get him where I wanted him, when he got the drop on me. He already knew what I had been hired to do and he had his way with me then killed me.” I shook my head in disgust. Mina just stared at me in stunned silence. She didn’t say much the rest of the walk to the main room, which wasn’t too long. Within minutes Lita ushered us into a large room that almost looked like an entrance hall. The same stone that had been in the hallway and my room was also in this room.

But I wasn’t too concerned with the décor. My eyes soon flashed over to the back wall of the room where there were four steps of the blackest onyx. But again it was _who_ was on these steps that drew my attention. On the lowest step, on a throne that seemed to be carved of the same stone, sat a blonde-haired man with icy green eyes. He was dressed in a gray suit and was wearing brown boots. A woman with long black hair, it almost looked violet, and a red dress similar to Lita’s was perched directly on his lap. I could plainly see one hand on the girl’s waist that belonged to the blonde, but the other hand seemed to be, my eyes widened as I took in the blissed out expression on the woman’s face. Oh my!

On the step above the blonde’s, sat a man with long curly brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a similar outfit to the blonde’s but seemed to have more embellishments on his suit than the blonde did. Above him on the third step, sat two more men. The man on the right also had long hair but this time it was more amber than brown. It was also pulled back into a ponytail. His gray suit was less embellished than the brown-haired man, but still had more color than the blonde. But I was lucky to be able to make that much out of the man’s appearance. For straddling his lap, with her ice blue dress pulled down so her chest was bared to him, and her head thrown back was a blue-haired woman. My eyes widened in surprise. Didn’t anyone hear of modesty in this place?

The man on the left was the most interesting of them all, especially because he wore a look of disgust as to what his friend was doing next to him. His hair was pure white and went to his shoulders. He was the tannest out of the four, and his icy blue eyes seemed to flash at our entrance. They also seemed to be totally captivated by Mina. His uniform was different than the other three’s. He wore a white cape and his suit was blue-gray than just plain gray.

These must be the masters of hell, but as my eyes traveled up to the last step, the highest of them all, the throne that lay upon it was empty. No man sat there. My eyebrows furrowed. That was quite curious. Where would this fifth person be? I turned back to Mina and we both exchanged glances.

“Where do you think the fifth person is?” Mina asked.

“I don’t know, but did you see the one with the white hair?” She blushed at my words. She had noticed him all right, and when I glanced at Lita she seemed to be starting at the brunette. So that was the master she was involved with. But another question seemed to take precedence in my mind. Where were the others that were going to be sentenced? Surely, Mina and I weren’t the only ones this day? I didn’t get to wonder long for the black-haired woman in the red dress strode off the blonde’s lap and sauntered over to Lita. They exchanged a fury of whispers, and Lita’s eyes were widening by the minute.

“Are you sure?” I heard her ask the black-haired woman.

“Yes, he sent word a few moments ago.”

“But why would he want to come here? What’s so different about this time than the other one’s he’s missed out on over the years?”

The black-haired woman shrugged. “Who are we to question him?” She didn’t give Lita a chance to reply as she strode back to the blonde’s lap.

“Wonder what that was about?” I turned my attention back to Mina who just shrugged.

“Don’t know, maybe it has something to do with the fifth master?”

“Could be,” I agreed reluctantly. I was still more concerned that nobody else was being sentenced to judgment but the two of us. Others had been killed today, right? We couldn’t be the only ones. Lita turned to us and finally answered one of our questions.

“We are sorry for the delay,” she whispered. “But apparently, we have to wait for _him_ to make his appearance.” The worried look reappeared on her face.

“Who’s _he_?” I asked. “The fifth master?”

“You could say that,” she sighed. “But we just call him the devil.”

Mina whipped her head to stare at Lita so fast I was surprised that she didn’t stumble where she stood. Her mouth was open in alarm and her eyes were widening in shock. “You mean there’s actually a devil?” Lita nodded. “But why is he coming to this judgment? What have we done to deserve this?” She seemed to be near tears. Apparently there was only so much she could take, while me on the other hand, I just learned to take things in stride, even though the display that was happening on that third step was still disturbing to me, and sadly, I also found it pretty erotic.

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“Others?” She asked confused.

“Yes, shouldn’t there be others being judged with us? We weren’t the only ones to die today and be sent to hell, were we?”

“Oh! Well, you two are special cases,” Lita looked uncomfortable talking about this, which only peaked my curiosity. What exactly did she mean that we were ‘special’ cases? But I didn’t get the chance to ask, because while we were talking a flash of flame had appeared on that last step and my mind was completely blown.

Once the flame disappeared, a man who seemed to be taller than the others, and who was wearing a black tuxedo stood by his throne. His messy raven black hair fell haphazardly into his eyes, which I was surprised to see were a deep azure blue. As I have said before, I am not like most other girls, but if I had been my mouth would have been hanging open at the sheer beauty of the man who had just appeared. It didn’t help either that those deep azure blue eyes seemed to catch mine in a heated stare, before I looked away (with much reluctance). The men, and women, on the thrones stood and bowed to him as if he were their king, which I guess he kind of was. Lita also bowed, but Mina and I just stood there not really sure if we should bow or not. But it didn’t matter, for he ushered them away quickly and took his seat.

“Let the sentencing begin,” his voice was deep and husky.

Oh God, was I ever in trouble.


	3. Saving Grace

Things seemed to take a more official tone after the Devil appeared. The blue-haired woman pulled her dress up and moved from straddling the auburn haired man’s lap to perching on the throne’s arm. The black-haired woman remained on the blonde’s lap, but the man removed his hand from beneath her dress. I took notice of all of this, but a part of me didn’t really care. I was still glancing at the Devil who was no longer wearing his tuxedo. He was now wearing a black silk button up shirt and matching dress pants. The expression on his face though reminded me of a kid’s who had to watch a documentary instead of his favorite cartoon.

That really irked me, but I couldn’t understand why. Not that I had long to dwell on the matter though, for Lita cleared her throat and everyone’s attention turned to her.

“We are gathered here today to determine the fates of these two lost souls,” she began. “First, we have Mina Aino. During her time among the living, she travelled down the wrong path. Her crimes include partaking in sexual acts with known married men and coveting money for her _services._ She died July 21, 2010 of a drug overdose. Masters, I now give you the floor to discuss her fate.”

The masters, however, did not erupt in whispers, for they had heard Mina’s gasp of surprise when the cause of her death had been read out. I stared at her surprised by her reaction. Her eyes were wide in shock, a look that seemed to be natural for her, and a hand was pressed to her mouth. Had she not expected her death to be read out loud? The white-haired male, who couldn’t keep his eyes off Mina when we first walked in, seemed to have noticed her discomfort. Rising from his throne, he addressed her.

“Is there something that shocks you about your death, Mina?”

“Y-yes,” she stammered surprised to have him speak to her directly. “Y-you see, you have my cause of death wrong?” The uncertainty in her voice made it sound more like a question rather than a statement of fact. I sighed, she really needed to stand her ground, or else the masters weren’t going to believe her. I, for one, already didn’t.

“Really?” He asked amused. “Then how do you think you died?”

“I don’t think, I _know_ ,” she retorted, this time her voice didn’t waver. I instantly felt my opinion change. “I know for a fact how I died. Last night, the wife of one of my clients came over to my apartment and said that she needed to speak with me. She had just found out about the affair that was going on and wanted to talk to me about it. Not seeing a problem, I let her in and we sat down and talked. Eventually, we got thirsty and I was too distraught by what she had told me to get up and make up refreshments. She offered and I gestured towards the kitchen. She came back a few minutes later with cups of tea. I didn’t notice until after I drank a little from mine, that she wasn’t drinking hers. She had poisoned my drink.”

Silence reigned after she said this. The masters seemed to all silently exchange their thoughts on the matter. This was sort of eerie and I found Mina squeezing my hand for support. She had executed a lot of strength by telling them the truth, something I could just tell that she didn’t do very often. It had drained her, and she was nervous. Surprisingly, I felt nervous for her too. We had barely known each other, and yet, I already felt that we were fast becoming friends. I guess being sentenced in hell could do that to you. I squeezed her hand back and watched the masters intently. They were still communicating silently, but finally, the Devil broke the silence.

“The decision rests solely with you, Kunzite,” he said. “You seem to have taken a liking to this soul. So, it is your choice to decide what will happen to her.”

“Very well, thank you, _sire,_ ” he nodded his head, and then turned to face us. “Mina, committing suicide usually lands you immediately into the deepest and hollowest circle of hell. However, because you have given evidence that seems to prove that you did _not_ kill yourself, I shall give you a choice. You can either spend the rest of eternity working in the last circle of hell, or you can become a mistress of hell, like Raye, Lita and Amy here.” He gestured to the females.

“Um…” Mina trailed off, shocked and mystified by what Kunzite had just said. “What exactly would becoming a mistress of hell entail?”

“You would belong to Kunzite and ensure that his every last wish is attended to,” Raye answered for him. I contained a shudder of disgust. It didn’t sound much different from what Mina used to do. Would she really agree to that? But then I thought of the alternative. Working non-stop in the deepest circle of hell for all eternity? Not a pretty picture, even for me, though I considered myself to have a good work ethic.

“O-okay,” Mina stuttered. “I’ll become a mistress of hell.” She nodded her head, as if to convince herself of the choice she just made.

“Excellent,” Kunzite smiled. “Lita shall inform you of what to do after we are done here.” He sat back down, but like before, his gaze did not stray from Mina. I still felt her hand within mine and squeezed it again while also throwing her a congratulatory smile. She glanced at me, and I could easily make out a slight blush on her cheeks. Lita cleared her throat once more and I remembered that I still had to be sentenced. I then began to doubt that I would receive such a good deal for my sentencing. I was not like Mina.

“Our second and last lost soul, gentlemen, is Serenity Anderson,” she announced. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at her introduction. I felt like I was a piece of artwork about to be auctioned off. “Like Mina, Serenity’s time among the living was hampered by wrong turns. Her crime is that she killed people for money. She died July 21, 2010 by slitting her own wrists. Masters, I now give you the floor to discuss her fate.”

Mina turned to me with another shocked expression on her face. I, on the other hand, couldn’t help but laugh. Diamond had said that my death would look like a suicide, but I didn’t think it would fool the people of hell.

“What is so funny, Serenity, about killing yourself?” The Devil himself asked me. I stopped laughing and looked directly into those blue eyes. I was about to drown in them, when I realized he had asked me a question and that I wasn’t the type of girl who became all misty eyed and flaunted her crush.

“You’re right, there is nothing funny about killing yourself,” I replied. “But I find it funny that, considering this is hell and all, you guys sure get a lot of things wrong.”

That weird mental communication thing began again but the Devil shook them off. A smirk played on his lips making him look even more dashing…. ** _NO._ ** I can’t go there. It wouldn’t do to fall for the Devil, which even as I said it to myself sounded so absurd. Falling for the Devil. What the…

“Indeed,” he interrupted my thoughts. “But what, if I may ask, did we get wrong this time, Serenity?” I looked up and instantly cursed him. Why did he have to keep saying my name like _that_? How, you ask? As if he was talking to me after we had had sex. Agh! Damn manipulator.

“Well, for starters, I didn’t kill just _anyone_. I got rid of those nasty power hungry CEOs. Trust me, when I say the world was better off without them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they all wound up down here, they were pretty treacherous and dirty.” He was watching me with an amused expression on his face. I was starting to get the feeling that no one had ever talked to him like I was before. But what can I say? I had an issue with authority. “Then my death? Yeah, so _not_ a suicide. One of the people I was hired to kill killed me instead. He made it look like a suicide so he wouldn’t be blamed for it.” _Fucking asshole_ , I added on in my head.

“Hm…is that so?” The Devil grinned. “I guess we have things to discuss, don’t we, gentlemen?” The mental communication thing began again, giving me time to exchange looks with Mina. She was glancing at me with obvious adoration in her eyes. I had made my case, even been a bit of a flippant smart-ass to the Devil, while Mina had stood there and stuttered through most of what had happened to her. She wondered how I could be so damn strong, but what she didn’t know was that I was born that way. It ran in my blood, my mother was the same way. Before I could take a trip down memory lane, the four masters nodded their heads and turned to face me. The Devil stood up and stepped down to the main floor. I looked up at him, craning my neck. Damn this guy was tall!

“Serenity, as you have heard with Mina, committing suicide lands you straight to the deepest circle of hell. However, like Mina again, we seemed to have gotten the cause of your death wrong. You say that you were murdered and because of how you spoke with such conviction, we shall believe you. But unlike with Mina, you have no choice in becoming a mistress of hell.”

I’m not going to lie; my first reaction to all of this was elation. Since all of the masters already had a mistress, the only one left was the Devil himself. No pun intended here, but hell to the yes! But then I got angry. How _dare_ he think that I would jump at the chance to become a mistress of hell? He should have at least given me the option like Kunzite did for Mina. Sure, I would have gone with Mina’s choice and yeah, this got rid of the extra time, which was probably precious to the Devil, but come on! The fact that he was abusing his power to ultimately get what he wanted (deep inside I was squealing like a teenaged girl) still pissed me off. Like I said before I have an issue with power abusing and authority. But I didn’t have any better choice. So I did the only thing I could do.

I agreed.

“Very well,” I said crossing my arms in front of my chest, pushing up my breasts, which the Devil noticed. Good, I couldn’t help but think, so he did have some shroud of humanity left in him. “Thank you.” I said it with as much sarcasm as I possibly could. Whether he noticed it or not, he didn’t show it. He turned his back on me and ushered forth Amy and Raye. Lita, even though she hadn’t been summoned, went to his side.

“Teach them what to expect and what to do to the best of your knowledge,” he turned back and his deep azure blue eyes locked with mine. “Also show them to the rooms and have them change. Those sentencing dresses just don’t… _flatter_ them at all.”

 _Liar,_ I thought. I had seen the way his eyes had trickled down to my cleavage when I crossed my arms. Didn’t flatter me, hm? Please! He was just trying to fluster me. But since I was going to be ‘in his care’ he was soon going to learn that I did not fluster easily. I would make sure of that.

“I have things to take care of,” he said. “I trust you’ll take good care of them.” Without giving them a chance to respond, he was gone in a flash of flame. The other masters disappeared too without a sound. Once it was just us girls, Raye, Amy, and Lita gave out shrieks and ran over to Mina and me. We were instantly ensued in hugs, when they finally let us breathe; Raye was the first to speak.

“I can’t believe that our circle has finally been completed!” She exclaimed. “I have to say when I heard that Endymion was coming to your sentencing, I was a little nervous for the two of you. He usually doesn’t come to sentencings. But we should have known that he had a reason. He usually does, you know.” I openly gawked at her. When I first saw her, I had her pegged as a more serious and fiery personality. Not this perky one. Maybe if I had gone on her bad side? I shook my head and concentrated on the other group members.

“Um…didn’t he say that he wanted you guys to teach us?” I asked. “What exactly is there to teach?”

“Good question, Serenity,” Amy replied smiling at me. “There really isn’t that much to teach you, but it’s best if you follow us.” She ushered us forward and we followed her out of the room, but not into the hallway that we had been in before. I hadn’t really noticed this, but the room that we were in branched out into three different hallways. When Mina and I first arrived we came in through the third hallway. Now, we were leaving through the second.

“You’ll be moving into Endymion and Kunzite’s rooms,” Lita explained. “So that way they can have easier…er, access to you.”

“You’ll basically be like a companion to them,” Raye butt in. Lita threw her a thankful look.

“What about, um….” Mina looked up helplessly as if wanting the others to finish this sentence for her. This was strange for her, considering that she had been a hired escort. Things like sex shouldn’t have been so awkward for her to talk about. At least that’s what I thought, but apparently for Mina, it was really hard. “ _Other_ activities?”

“Oh, well, if there anything like Zoicite, they’ll wait until you’re adjusted around here before trying anything,” Amy replied smiling down at Mina who just nodded her head.

“What about public displays?” I couldn’t help but snidely ask. The scenes that I had seen when I first walked into the sentencing room still played in my head. I was hoping that the Devil, or apparently Endymion, wouldn’t make me do anything like that. Even though, from what I could tell from the brief few minutes we saw each other, he just might.

“Oh!” Raye and Amy exclaimed a deep blush appearing on their cheeks. “Well, they won’t force you, but we kind of have this um…power complex. Seeing Jadeite and Zoicite on their thrones just does _something_ to us. We can’t help ourselves.” Raye exclaimed, looking at me desperately. As if she was trying to make me understand her point of view. I smiled at her to let her know I did. Everybody had his or her own weird quirks. It’s what made us all so very interesting.

“Well, their power complex aside, I think you two will enjoy it here,” Lita said smiling as she stopped in front of a room. “Serenity, this is Endymion’s room and where you’ll be staying. This is where we’ll leave you. I wouldn’t put it past the Devil to have already stocked the closet with some dresses and shoes. So, go get changed, poke around and then we’ll come get you for dinner.” She waved and Raye, Amy, and Mina followed suit. I waved back and carefully opened the door to the room of the devil.

Oh. My. God.

I felt like my eyes were bugging out of my head, as I tried to take in everything. Endymion’s room? Yeah, right, more like Endymion’s mini penthouse apartment. Damn! I couldn’t help but think as I walked around and glanced at everything in sight. Upon first walking in, there was a large living room that took up most of the area. It wasn’t really decorated except for some dark carpeting and a single black leather couch on one wall. As I walked forward, things seemed to sparkle. I looked up and saw the magnificent crystal chandelier that hung from the black stone ceiling. No wonder this place was brighter than my apartment. To my left was a doorway and I found myself instantly entranced to open the door. Once I stepped through, I saw that this room was the bedroom of the devil himself. The room was almost as large if not equally the size of the living room. The king sized bed was the main focal point and I couldn’t help but muse about how much the devil seemed to like the color black.

Turning to the closet, I opened the doors and felt my jaw drop open in surprise. It was a gigantic walk in closet, and almost looked like the racks of a high-end clothing store had been placed inside. Lita had been right though, as I noticed a rack of dresses to my right. Curiosity getting the better of me, I went over and began to slide through them. But as I slid, my amazement disappeared, and I became angry. Don’t get me wrong, the dresses were beautiful, and I honestly can say that I liked the deep blues, purples, and blacks that hung there. Most people had mistaken me to like the color pink. I didn’t. But the thing that irked me about these dresses was that they seemed to be out of Sluts-R-Us. Surely, the Devil didn’t intend for me to wear these all the time?

“Is something not to your liking?” The man in question said from behind me. I froze and turned around to yell at him about sneaking up on me, when my eyes landed on him. The serious demeanor that he had worn in the sentencing room seemed to have vanished. He was now smirking openly at me, and I felt myself melt a little.

No, he was to my liking just fine…


	4. Defying the Devil

_Serenity, get a hold of yourself!_ A part of my brain began to scream at me as I stood there openly staring at the gorgeous hunk of… **NO.** I found myself mentally saying again. I snapped out of the hypnotic stare I had sunk myself into, and turned my back on Endymion. Now, able to think clearly, I tried to remember what exactly he had asked me before I had gone totally blissed out blank. _Is something not to your liking?_ Right. The clothes. Duh. I sighed and found my hands sifting through the dresses on the rack in front of me. Pulling one particular slutty number off the rack, I held it out and turned back to him. His blue eyes were still watching me with interest and the smirk that he had on his face, was now pulled into what I believed to be a smile.

“Is it not in the color that you prefer?” He asked examining the dress that I picked. I shook my head in annoyance. Seriously? _That’s_ what he thought was the matter? The dress wasn’t in the _color_ that I wanted? MEN! They absolutely, one hundred fucking percent, don’t understand what goes on in a women’s mind! I snatched the dress out of his grasp.

“Actually,” I replied my tone a little cold. “The color’s just fine. It’s the style that…” I trailed off as I looked at the dress, trying to find the right word to describe the miniscule cloth. “Displeases me. In fact, all these dresses are absolutely horrible. You don’t actually think I would wear these, do you?”

“If you want, you could wear nothing at all,” he replied his eyes now roaming over every curve and inch of my body. “I just thought you had a sense of modesty that you wanted to uphold. But if you’d rather walk around here naked, I, for one, would certainly not mind at all.” He grinned, and I instantly felt my jaw drop. Just because I didn’t want to wear his slutty prom gowns he thought that I wanted to walk around hell, _naked?_ Oh that son of a bitch…would he ever have another thing coming.

“You’re despicable,” I ground out, my teeth clenched.

“No, honey, I’m the Devil,” his grin grew wider. “But I’d rather you call me Endymion, makes things a bit easier, don’t you think? Now, what really seems to be the trouble here, Serenity? It can’t be the dresses, because honestly, these are quite lovely, if I do say so myself.” He fingered the dress that I still held in my hand. But I really didn’t care about the dress, at the moment. Oh no, I was more in tune to the fact that Endymion was in such a close proximity to me. And man, was it ever doing strange things to my head and uh…. well, you get the picture. I blinked myself out of the mental fog. Really, how many more times could this guy do that to me? And held up the dress for his inspection.

“You call _this_ a dress?” I asked him. “There isn’t enough cloth, and honestly looks like something strippers would wear. As I’ve said before, I am not wearing this!” I flung the dress in his face and turned to stalk out of the closet when his arm snatched out and grabbed my wrist. He yanked me back and I soon found myself pulled flush against his body. Those deep azure blue eyes now looked almost black with his rage. Somewhere deep inside me, I was quivering in fear. The grip he held on my wrist was like iron, and only seemed to intensify the more I struggled to be free.

“How dare you?” He seethed. “I saved you from an eternity of whipping and horrible work in the deepest circle of hell. I gift you magnificent dresses that any girl under the sun would more than happily wear if I were to give them to her, but you throw it in my face. You openly defy me, Serenity, and I will not stand for this flippant smart-ass tone any longer. You owe your soul to me. You are mine.” His lips crashed down on mine, and I’m not sure if it was because we were both angry, but something fueled that kiss and made it the hottest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. His lips pressed harshly against mine, willing them to move in synch with an equal fervor to his. His grip relaxed on my wrist so he could snake his arms around my waist. I hate to say this, but I leaned into that kiss and let him do those things to me. I kissed him back just as harshly. My hands wound themselves into that thick raven hair of his, and when his tongue slid along my bottom lip to beckon entrance into my mouth, I humbly obliged. But it wasn’t until his hand began to hike up my dress that the full weight of the words he said hit me.

Wait one goddamned minute. What exactly did he mean that I was _his_? Sure, the guy saved me from an eternity of horrible whippings and blistering work in the deepest circle of hell. And yeah, I might have owed him for doing that. But since when does that automatically qualify me as being owned by the devil? Last I checked I was still my own person who had feelings and could think for herself. I was nobody’s property, and the Devil was about to learn that the hard way. But how was I going to get away from those oh so tantalizing lips? I did the only thing I could think of.

I kneed him in the groin.

He hadn’t been expecting it, and his lips left mine as he crumpled over holding himself. He looked up at me with a pained expression on his face. I smiled treacherously as I stood over him, my hands on my hips.

“How dare I?” I replied to him, my voice unwavering. “No, how dare _you._ How could you think that just because you ‘saved me’ from an eternity of hardships that you owned me? I hate to break it to you, Endymion, but I don’t care much for being owned.” I turned on my heel and walked away from him. Did I feel bad for hurting him? Maybe just a tiny bit, but come on! The guy thought he owned me like I was some kind of piece of property. I don’t care if he is the Devil, he still deserved what he got. But even as I tried to make myself feel better for kneeing the guy in the groin, I knew that I might have taken things a little bit too far. He did have a point. I was supposed to be _his_ mistress of hell for the next eternity.

Oh hell…guilt got the better of me and I debated whether or not I should turn back and make sure that he was okay. But I knew that we probably needed the time apart to cool down. I made my way to the door and just as I opened it I heard a gasp of surprise. Lita and the others were standing on the other side of the door looking at me in amazement.

“What? Is there something on my face?” I asked them trying to figure out what exactly they were staring at. Then I remembered the smooch fest that Endymion and I had shared. My lips were probably all red and swollen. No wonder they were staring at me.

“No, that’s not it,” Mina exclaimed looking at the others.

“Even though, now that you’ve mentioned it,” Amy said. “Your lips _are_ awfully swollen. What have you been up to in there?” She peered around me to get a good look into the room that was now mine and Endymion’s. I closed the door behind me, which only raised their suspicions.

“Oh, wow, Serenity,” Raye laughed. “Aren’t you quick?”

“Raye, don’t antagonize the poor girl,” Lita interceded but couldn’t help but smile at the blush that had risen on my cheeks. They were already thinking the worst of me. But I had every intention of putting them in their place and telling them what had really happened between the Devil and I over dinner.

“So, what did you mean before?” I asked Mina trying to change subjects.

“Oh, well, we just found it kind of strange that you seemed to open the door just as Lita was about to knock. It was like you already knew that we were coming to get you for dinner.”

“Speaking of…”

* * *

After we had been lead into a massive dining room and had been served platters of food that made all of us salivate and eat to our hearts content, I told the girls what had really happened between the Devil and I. Mina looked shocked (but I was really starting to believe that look was normal for the girl) while the other three just kind of smiled at each other. Wondering what could possibly be so funny about all of this I waited until they noticed my disbelief.

“Oh, Serenity,” Amy said. “You have to understand, Endymion became the Devil a good five hundred years ago. He is still used to the ways and practices of the 1500s. He isn’t used to women being their own person.”

“Five hundred years ago?” I repeated my mouth open in shock. If he truly became the Devil in the 1500s then that explained the way he had acted. The guilt that I had felt earlier for kneeing Endymion in the groin was starting to come over me again and I instantly cursed myself. Ugh. Damn my conscious. “How did Endymion become the Devil anyway?”

“Well,” Raye said looking uncomfortable at the question. “I think it might be best if you asked him that question. We don’t really know the details, and if he wants to tell you he will.” I nodded my head, and decided that if we ever became friends I would ask him. But right now was definitely _not_ the time for that. The door to the dining hall opened and the other four masters walked in. They had smiles on their faces when they saw us sitting at the table.

“Well, hello, ladies,” Jadeite said. “I hope we aren’t interrupting your meal?” He grinned cockily at us, and seeing the deep blush on Raye’s cheeks I understood why. We returned the smiles the other three masters bestowed upon us, and we hastily let them join us for what was left of our dinners. Out of all of us, Mina seemed to be the most uncomfortable, and I could only hazard a guess as to why. She probably hadn’t seen Kunzite since the sentencing earlier and was feeling a bit awkward…or at least flushed.

“So, what nasty tales have our ladies been spinning to you, Serenity and Mina?” Nephrite asked taking Lita’s hand in his. I couldn’t help but smile at the small show of affection, and felt a small pang of jealousy. Where had that come from? I couldn’t help but muse, and decided that I would analyze this new information later.

“We’ve just been discussing Endymion’s first interaction with Serenity,” Amy explained. “They got into a fight.”

Jadeite whistled. “Already? What did you do to him?”

I repeated my story from earlier and was amazed that the other masters seemed to understand where I was coming from. At the end of my tale, Kunzite and Zoicite seemed to hang their heads in shame, while Jadeite shook his head and Nephrite said, “The Devil seems to have learned nothing over the last five hundred years. Don’t feel bad about this, Serenity. Endymion is set in his old ways and I’m afraid he doesn’t know better. At least not yet.”

“I think it’s a good thing that you’ve come into his life,” Jadeite commented. “Endymion could use a girl like you.”

“A girl like me?” I asked confused by his statement.

“Yes, a girl who could give the Devil a run for his money,” he explained. “No wonder he was so determined to witness your sentencing. He must have known he would find you.”

I sat there speechless. The way they were speaking it sounded as if the Devil had been waiting for me for over five hundred years. But how had he known that I was coming in this sentencing? How had he known that the mistress of hell that he had been looking for was me? For the first time in my life I found myself in the middle of something that I didn’t fully understand. If the mistresses and the masters noticed my lapse into silence they didn’t mention it, and seemed to change the subject. I didn’t really listen to what they were talking about, my thoughts more centered on a certain Devil.     

* * *

When we finally adjourned to return to our rooms, Lita snaked out of Nephrite’s grasp to walk next to me. A comforting hand was placed on my shoulder, shocking me, and forcing me back to the present. I looked up into her warm hunter green eyes. She was looking at me sympathetically. “We probably shouldn’t have told you all of that. I know it must be a lot to take in, considering all the stuff that you’ve been through today.”

“It is a lot to take in, but I don’t know. Is it strange to feel something towards someone you haven’t known for more than twenty-four hours?”

“If you’re asking if it’s natural to have feelings towards the Devil,” she said. “I can’t answer that. For all of us it was different. Raye and Amy didn’t feel an instant attraction to Jadeite and Zoicite. In fact, they both hated them and swore that they would never have any other feeling towards them.” We both looked back to where Jadeite and Raye were pressed against the wall whispering things to each other. Amy and Zoicite were holding hands and smiling at the other. Lita and I exchanged looks and giggled. “It’s different for everyone, but no matter what happens, Serenity. I need you to know that it isn’t horrible if you do have feelings for the Devil. In fact, it would be wonderful.” She gave me a squeeze hug and left me at the familiar red door. Waving to everyone, I turned and opened the door.

The room hadn’t changed from when I left it. The stilettos on my feet were killing me, and I leaned down to unbuckle the straps. I slipped them off and let my bare feet touch the carpet. It was soft and felt wonderful. I padded through the room and went back to the bedroom. It was the same as the living room. Nothing was changed. My footsteps seemed to falter as I neared the closet. I didn’t know what I would find when I walked in there. But….

 _Oh, come on, Serenity! Get a hold of yourself. You’re not a teenaged girl anymore. If he is still in there deal with it, if he’s not, oh well._ I sighed and walked into the closet. This room was different from when I left it. Endymion wasn’t on the floor, hell, he wasn’t even in the room. The rack of slutty dresses was still there, but as I filtered through them, they weren’t the slutty dresses anymore. They were more appropriate. I picked one off the rack and held it up to the light. The fabric wasn’t see through, and it reminded me of the dress I was wearing right now, only it was more flattering. I placed the dress back on the rack and sifted through the rest of them. None of them were the slutty dresses from before. He had replaced them.

“I hope these are more to your liking?” The Devil asked from behind me. I turned and found him standing with his arms crossed by the door. The smirk he had worn the last time was gone. He now wore a softer expression, and his eyes almost looked like he was pleading with me to accept him. My heart melted a little at the sight, but my common sense fought to stay in control.

“Yes, thank you,” I replied. He kept his eyes on me, making me feel a tad bit uncomfortable. “Look, about earlier…” I trailed off not sure where to go from there. I wasn’t used to apologizing to people. It was unknown territory for me.

“I’m sorry,” he interrupted me as if he knew what I was thinking.

“I’m…uh…wait. What?” I turned back to him. His arms were now uncrossed and he had left the doorway. He was now walking towards me, and I instantly felt myself squirming inside. I still hadn’t figured out what it was about him in close proximity that made me lose my train of thought.

“I’m sorry for how I behaved earlier,” he repeated again. “I’m not sure how much the other mistresses and masters told you, but I’m not used to the ways of this time period.”

“Oh…uh…well, they might have mentioned something about that,” I said trying to avoid his gaze. I could seriously drown in those deep blue eyes if I wasn’t careful.

He chuckled, “I figured they might, but then I hope you can understand why I acted the way that I did earlier.” That pleading look in his eyes returned and I felt my heart warm up to him more. Five hundred years was a long time to be alone with out a companion, and the moment he found someone he had almost lost her.

“I understand it,” I said breaking the silence. “But I still stand by what I said before. I don’t care much for being owned.”

“Yes, I…uh…got _that_ message loud and clear,” he smiled weakly and I felt my face flush at the memory of what I had done to him. Sure, it might have been a little extreme, but I wasn’t quite ready to do _that_ with him just yet. Even though my body was jumping at the chance…

“I’m sorry about that, by the way. I hope I didn’t hurt you?”

“No more than what I deserved, I expect,” he shook his head and took my wrist that he had grabbed earlier in his hands. I hadn’t noticed but a faint purple was now covering my usually white skin. “Does this hurt?”

“Not really,” I replied staring back at his blue eyes.

“I really need to stress how sorry I am, Serenity,” he said. “After everything that you have been through already today, I shouldn’t have forced myself on you. I hope that you can forgive me?” Those eyes pleaded again, and I knew that I was already a goner.

“Just as long as it doesn’t happen again, Endymion.”

“I swear to you that it won’t,” he smiled at me. “Now, I trust that you have had a long day and are in need of a shower. So I shall leave you.” He took my hand and brought it to his lips. My face flushed again and he disappeared in a flash of flame. I faltered backwards and took the hand that he had kissed and held it to my heart. It was beating abnormally fast, and I knew that this could only mean one thing.

I was in love with the Devil.


	5. The Heart of the Matter

I could distinctly hear the showerhead in the bathroom turn on, and I knew that Serenity was now in the shower. Other regions of my body registered this fact, and I knew that I had to leave the room if I wanted her to remain unafraid of my intentions and me. The scene from earlier had almost ruined my plans, but I couldn’t help it. No one had dared to speak to me like that in over five hundred years. It was a major turn on, but it was also the trigger for my very short temper. Sure, I should have kept my temper in check, I won’t disagree with that, but I _am_ the Devil. No one goes around back talking me and gets away with it. Not even if they are… I shook my head. It wouldn’t do to keep analyzing her features and comparing them. There was no way that it could be, and I shouldn’t let myself keep my hopes up. It had been five hundred years. I should have moved on by now, but that was kind of hard to do when you were stuck being the Lord of the Underworld.

How had I even got caught up in this mess? Well…to be honest, even _I_ don’t understand it. All I know was that I was picked from the beginning to become the next Devil, and when my time came to take over…well, let’s just say that you didn’t have the option to say nay.

**_*Flashback*_ **

_It was a warm day in the market place of the kingdom as I lead my horse through the various tables and stalls. Peddlers were roaming and trying to have me purchase things, but I wasn’t interested in buying anything that day. My attention was directly in seeking the beautiful maiden that had captured my heart weeks ago. Her maid had told me that she was in the market place when I had come to visit with her that morning. Intrigued to find out why she was here and knowing that I wouldn’t rest until my question had been answered, I went out to seek her. She would have to pick the busiest day to come here; I couldn’t help but muse as I turned down another aisle. My eyes scanned the various people of all shapes and sizes looking for the golden waterfall that would belong to her, but it didn’t catch my eye. I began to wonder if I had mistaken this market place with another when someone stopped in front of my horse._

_“Would you happen to be Lord Endymion Rockwood of the Traveling Manor Estate?” The person asked. I peered down at this newcomer from my saddle. The person was a man, wearing a black hooded cape. The hood was up so I couldn’t see his face. I was very cautious to answer his question, since I didn’t know who he was. He could have been an armed robber for all I knew._

_“And if I am?” I retorted. “Why do you seek Lord Endymion?”_

_“Ah, you_ are _him,” the man seemed to nod his head. “But as for why I seek you, my lord, that will be revealed in good time. I shall visit you at the Manor soon. You best be on your way, we don’t wish to make a scene.” I opened my mouth to ask again as to why this man was seeking me and how he knew that I was indeed Lord Endymion, when he was gone as quickly as he appeared. Frowning slightly, I moved my horse forward, musing over the meeting. Who was that mysterious man? And what could he possibly want from me? Usually I would have assumed that he wanted gold or needed the power my title held in society for some meaningless task, but there was something different about that man…this was beyond titles and gold, of that I was sure._

_My horse neighed, bringing me back to the present and away from my thoughts. Another person had stopped to touch my horse, but this time it wasn’t in alarm that she neighed. It was in greeting. I peered down from my saddle and felt a smile on my lips. Standing before my horse, was the beautiful maiden that I was seeking. Her long golden hair touched by sunlight went flowed down her back, this day in a braid that almost touched the ground below her. She had the whitest skin, almost as if it was marble, and her light cornflower blue eyes spoke volumes. They met mine, and she returned my smile._

_“Lord Endymion,” she greeted, her voice that of an angel. “How are you on this pleasant autumn day?” The smile on my lips remained as I jumped down from my horse. I took her hand in mine and kissed her knuckles. As I peered up from her hand, I saw the faintest blush appear on her cheeks._

_“I am very well, Lady Serena,” I replied. “And how are you?”_

_“I am well, good sir.”_

_“I am glad to hear it. I was very intrigued as to what made you come to the market on this day. When I inquired to visit you this morning, your maid said that I would find you here.”_

_“Some days I like to get out and converse with the people of this town,” she replied. “The busiest days are always the best to do such a task. But for what, if I may ask, did you wish to visit me for, Lord Endymion?”_

_I looked around us, and knew that this would not be the place to discuss my reasons for visiting her. Taking her hand and leading my horse at the same time, we walked amongst the other people in the market place until we reached an isolated part of town. The flowers here were in full bloom even if it was the beginning of autumn. Leading her to the fountain that rested in the middle of the courtyard, I ushered for her to sit down._

_“Well, you see, Serena,” I began knowing that since we were alone the use of proper titles weren’t needed. “I came to visit you this morning, because I have a very important question to ask you. As you know, when we first met at the Autumn Solstice Ball, you stole my very breath away. And as we have gotten to know each other over the last few weeks, you’ve also stolen my heart. What I wish to ask you now, is that, Serena would you do me the honor of being my wife?”_

_Serena gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth, as I pulled out a box from the pocket of my trousers. Opening it for her to see, inside laid a silver ring with a diamond in the center. She didn’t say anything for a while, and I instantly began to worry that I had brought up this matter too soon._

_“Serena?”_

_“Endymion, the ring is beautiful, but…” I braced myself for the worst. “Have you asked my father’s permission to ask for my hand? Does he know of your intentions?” This time it was I who looked at her startled. That was what she had to say to my proposal? I began to chuckle. I had thought that she was going to say no, even though she still hadn’t given me an answer yet._

_“Of course I have asked your father,” I replied. “I asked him last night after I returned you to your quarters. He was overjoyed that I had asked him for his permission, which he readily gave.”_

_She smiled, “Very well, if you have asked for my father’s permission and he has given it to you, then I daresay that I will be very happy to be your wife, Endymion.” I smiled in victory and placed the ring on her ring finger of her left hand. Afterwards, I claimed her lips in a quick kiss._

* * *

_Later that night, after I had returned to my room for the evening, a mysterious gust of wind blew the draperies of my window forward. From my position on the bed, I couldn’t understand what was going on and left to investigate. I glanced out my window and saw no streaks of lightning lighting up the sky, and the trees weren’t bristling with any wind movements. I shook my head in wonder at what could have possibly caused the mysterious gust, when I turned around and came face to face with the hooded man from the market place._

_He grinned toothily at me, “Lord Endymion, as I expected. Forgive the intrusion, but I did tell you that I would come and converse with you this evening.” He backed away and took in the room. I watched him, my heart beating hard against my rib cage. This man had startled me, something no man ever did and lived. How had he gotten in in the first place? There were guards everywhere!_

_“You know my name, sir, but I’m afraid I do not know yours,” I said breaking the man’s reverie. “I also do not know your appearance. If you could be so kind as to lower your hood, sir?”_

_The man turned around again. “Yes, yes, of course, Lord Endymion. I apologize if I startled you, for you see I did not know how best to have this conversation. It was best if it wasn’t in the open, and it was also best if it wasn’t in the morning and afternoon hours. I do not wish anyone to witness what I have to tell you.” He seemed to be out of his mind. I watched him cautiously, still not sure what to make of this man. He had not told me his name, and he had not lowered his hood. Who was he exactly? And what was so important about this conversation that it had to be held in private?_

_“But you have asked for my name and you have asked me to lower my hood so you can look upon my face. I shall, of course, oblige these demands,” he bowed and lowered his hood. I felt my eyes widen and my mouth drop open in surprise, for standing before me was, well, me. The man was my exact height and had the same color hair as I did, but his almost looked blue. The eyes were a slightly lighter shade of blue than mine, but the face structure was identical._

_“Your name?” I asked again after awhile._

_“My name is Sapphire and I know that what I’m about to tell you will sound a bit odd, even a tad bit mad, but you must know that this is the truth. These places actually exist.”_

_“What places?”_

_“All in good time, Endymion,” he said sitting down in a chair by the fireplace. “For let me start from the beginning. As I have said I am Sapphire, and what I have to tell you tonight, deals with your destiny. It is time for you to take your rightful place. Now, I believe you know that when you die, you either go to Heaven or you go to Hell. You do believe in these places?”_

_"I am a Christian, so of course I do,” I replied curious as to why he was asking me this question._

_“Very good, this might be easier for you to accept than I had previously thought,” he nodded his head. “Well, since you believe that Heaven and Hell exist, then I can tell you that they do. How do I know this you might ask? Well, it is because I am the Lord of the Underworld, or the Devil, if you will.”_

_I stared at him, not really believing what he was saying. He was the_ Devil _? But how could that possibly be? The Devil didn’t actually exist. It was just some story, like Santa Claus, to tell to children when they were misbehaving. He couldn’t possibly think that I would take him seriously._

_“Okay, Sapphire, let’s say hypothetically that I believe that you really are the Devil, why then are you here? You say it has something to do with my destiny?”_

_“Yes, it does. You see, Endymion, I have been the Devil for over a millennia now. I have been waiting for my successor to be born and to take my place when the time was right.”_

_“So what does that have to do with me?”_

_“You, Endymion, are my successor,” he replied. “And I have come to tell you that your time has come to replace me. You are ready.”_

_I was up and out of my chair in minutes. My sword was pressed to his throat. I had listened to enough of his tall tales, and I was feeling sorry for the poor chap as he spun his web of lies. But this had just taken things too far. This was almost blasphemous. How could_ I _be the next Devil? It just didn’t make any logical sense._

_“You’re mad.”_

_He sighed, “I should have known that you would take it this way. I did too when I was first told that I was to become the Devil. It is quite a shock to your system, but I have to tell you that I am not mad. I speak the truth, Lord Endymion. What do you need me to do to prove it to you?”_

_“The only thing I need you to do, is to remove yourself from my sight, before I call my guards to take you away. I do not need to hear these poisoned delusions. Now, be gone, sir.” I removed my sword and stepped aside so he could get up from his chair and leave my quarters. He got up from his chair and stood inches from me._

_“I had hoped that it wouldn’t have to come to this,” he whispered. “But you best start believing your path, my dear boy, or else you could lose that which you hold most dear.”_

_“What are you talking about?” I asked feeling anger coarse through my veins._

_“Not, what, but who,” he replied. “I believe her name is Serena, is it not?”_

_I snapped, “Guards!” I exclaimed, but I should have kept my mouth shut for just like in the market place he was gone in a blink of an eye. What he had said though about losing what I held most dear, began to worry me. Was he threatening Serena’s life? But I shook it off. This man was obviously delusional. Everything he said should be taken with a grain of salt._

* * *

 

_Weeks later on the day of my wedding, I had forgotten meeting the mysterious man and his cryptic warnings. I was in too much of a celebratory mood. In a mere hour, I would be marrying the most beautiful maiden in the city, hell even in the world. I couldn’t help but smile as I tied my tie. Nothing could ruin this day, absolutely nothing._

_But of course I was wrong._

_With fifteen minutes to go before the wedding was officially to begin, I heard a feminine shriek of horror. Feeling instant worry coursing through me, I rushed to the door of my room and opened it, only to find Serena’s maid standing there her eyes wide in horror._

_“Lord Endymion!” She exclaimed and propelled herself at my feet, sobbing._

_“Gabriella? What is it?”_

_“It’s horrible, my lord, absolutely horrible. Lady Serena…” she erupted into a fit of uncontrolled sobs. I felt fear rush through me, and Sapphire’s words from weeks ago began to play themselves in my head._ But you best start believing your path, my dear boy, or else you could lose that which you hold most dear. I believe her name is Serena, is it not? _No, it couldn’t be true._

_“Gabriella, what is it? What about Lady Serena? Is she hurt?” I asked feverently, but the maid would speak no more. Her whole being had been overcome by sobs, but she did point me towards Serena’s rooms. Not wasting any time, I ran towards them, feeling a sinking feeling in my stomach as to what I was about to find. The door to her rooms was thrown wide open, no doubt by Gertrude in her haste to find me. But I still was cautious as I stepped forward into the room, drawing my sword as I went. Nothing seemed out of place as I made my way through the sitting room, but instant dread filled me right before I walked into her bedroom._

_I walked in, and felt my whole world collapse. Slumped on the ground was Serena’s body. She was in a heap on the floor, surrounded by the train of her white wedding gown. But on her gown were spatters of the deepest red. Her blood. Feeling the sword drop from my fingers I ran across the room and kneeled to take her body in my arms. She moved as if she was a puppet and I was her master pulling the strings. Her life had ended. Someone had murdered her. Tears of fury and despair began to brim in my eyes. Who could have possibly done this?_

_“I warned you,” a familiar voice said from the doorway. “I warned you what would become of her if you didn’t believe your destiny, Lord Endymion. See what happens when you deny who you truly are?” I raised my gaze to the man who had murdered my beloved. I didn’t feel anything but blind rage towards him. A mad man had killed her, because he believed his own tales of the Devil and Hell? Well, fine, if that were the case then I would send him to where he truly belonged; the Hell of which he spoke._

_I laid her body on the ground and stood. My sword was on the other side of the room. Carefully I approached the man who called himself the Devil. He watched aware of my movements, not knowing what I was going to do. He would probably try to stop me, but he didn’t know how aggressive I could be once I set my mind to something._

_“You killed her?” I asked, my voice rough._

_He nodded, “Yes. To make you see reason, dear boy.” He showed me a bloodied dagger. My anger increased and I lunged for my sword on the ground. He didn’t do anything to stop me like I thought he would. When I stood again, facing him with the sword in my hands, poised to strike, he just watched with a cool expression. Not wanting to analyze why he didn’t fear my kill, I lunged forward again and stabbed him in the abdomen, making sure the sword went deep within his gut. Sapphire looked up at me, not in alarm, but in humor. A smile played on his lips and a look of pride was in his eyes._

_“Well done,” he whispered before I was engulfed in flame. It felt like every part of my body was being licked by fire, but the strange thing was that it didn’t burn. It seemed to soothe my fragile nerves, and almost calmed me. I didn’t know where I was, and was starting to believe that this was a really bad nightmare, when I opened my eyes to the most peculiar sight. Hundreds of pairs of eyes were gazing up at me in wonder, and I heard a voice say._

_“Show respect to the new Lord of the Underworld, Lord Endymion!” Before I could blink they were all bowing to me, and I finally was able to see where I had ended up. I was sitting on a high throne that was made of bones._

_I was in Hell._

**_*End of Flashback*_ **

It wasn’t until a good hundred years after that that Kunzite joined me and became my second master of hell. Zoicite, Nephrite, and Jadeite weren’t far behind him, and then the mistresses began to arrive until finally, _she_ had shown up. I had thought that I was seeing things as I gazed at the scroll of deaths for the day, what seemed to be hours ago. There was no way that it could possibly be her, but when I arrived in the sentencing room and saw her, I knew that there might be a chance that she had returned to me after all these years.

“Endymion?” Kunzite pulled me out of my mental reverie. I looked around shocked to see that I was still standing outside of my room. He was standing on my left, so he must have been on his way to his room when he saw me lost in thought.

“Kunzite,” I nodded. “On your way to visit with Mina and see how she is adjusting to her new ‘life’?”

“I saw her earlier at dinner, and she seemed to be doing alright with the change. How about you? I heard that you have already gotten into a fight with Serenity. You should know better, Endymion.”

I rolled my eyes at the comment, “You know I’m still not used to how women’s roles have changed in the last five hundred years. It’s going to take some adjusting, and I told her. She seems to understand that, and has forgiven me for my…mistake.” I frowned not sure what else to call what had happened earlier.

“I also heard what she did to you after your ‘mistake.’ Something I believe that you deserved, my friend. She sure is going to be a hand full for you….” He trailed off and looked unsure of whether he should ask his next question or not. I knew what he was about to ask, but I didn’t know how I was going to answer him. I still hadn’t figured out the answer to it myself yet. “Why did you choose to save her, Endymion? Is it because of her resemblance to Serena?”

“I think that was what made the decision for me,” I replied looking back at the door to my room that I was now sharing with Serenity.

“Then do you think that she could possibly be her reincarnated?”

“Of that I am not sure, Kunzite. She has that fire that Serena had way back when. It was that fire that attracted me to her, and I won’t deny that the resemblance is almost uncanny, but whether or not it is my love reborn, I cannot tell you without further investigation. But while we’re on the matter, do you think Mina is Minako?”

“Yes, there’s no doubt that she is,” he smiled wide, but the smile seemed to falter as he thought something over. “Endymion, I think there is something that you need to know about Serenity.”

“What is it?” I asked curious.

“While we were at dinner and discussing topics, she told us that if we wished we could call her by her nickname since she believed the name Serenity was too formal and a mouthful.”

“And what is her nickname?” I asked not really seeing where this was going.

“Her nickname is Serena,” he replied watching me intently to see what my reaction was going to be. But it wouldn’t be too hard to guess, since it could be summed up into three words:

Oh. Well. Shit.


	6. At the Barrel of a Gun

It took me a few minutes to regain any sense of sanity that I had, which by this point of the day wasn’t much. Once I did, though, I realized that Endymion was right; a hot shower was needed to soothe my frazzled nerves. Realizing that the other rack of clothes in the room were actually silk nightgowns, I grabbed the first one I saw, some deep shade of midnight blue and made my way into what I assumed was the bathroom. And if I thought the bedroom and the king-sized closet were spectacular, well, let’s just say that the bathroom trumped them both. Now, I had seen my fair share of _MTV Cribs_ and some of the hits I was hired to kill had some pretty swank pads, but this, _this_ took the cake.

When I first walked into the bathroom, I thought that I had walked into the indoor pool by mistake. But I realized that the “pool” in the center of the room was actually the bathtub. Yeah, you read right. The _bathtub._ My jaw hit the floor, and I know after the penthouse suite that I walked through I should have guessed that the bathroom would be just as glamorous. But I’m going to blame my shock on the fact that my mind just couldn’t process anything since my revelation minutes before.

So, right, the bathroom. It was like the bathroom of the penthouse suite, plus a mix of Mariah Carey’s bathroom. In simple terms, it was _huge_ and glistened like when certain people find hidden treasure. As I walked deeper into the room and glanced inquisitorially at the bathtub, I swore that someday (since I had an eternity anyway) I would take a bath in that tub. Sighing, I hung up the nightgown and placed a dark black towel (apparently the devil liked dark colors) in easy reach for when I got out of the shower. I reached behind the glass sliding door and turned on the water, and waited for it to reach the right temperature. While I was waiting, I took my hair out of the high ponytail it had been in since the night I was killed. As soon as I did, my hair fell in waves behind my back and blood rushed back into my limbs. Keeping my hair up in such a high ponytail for so long was never a good idea. A headache throbbed on my lower temple and I knew that the hot water would soothe and dull the ache. I slipped the straps of my dress down my shoulders and pulled it over my head. I was able to get out of my under things with ease and let those fall into a heap at my feet. Finally, I stepped into the shower and you know what?

Considering this was hell, that shower was pure heaven.

I walked back into the bedroom, feeling totally refreshed, but at the same time, very tired. So tired in fact, that I didn’t care that I was about to slip in between the sheets of the Devil’s bed. He wasn’t in the room, and I had a feeling by the time he came back I would be dead asleep (…I really have to watch the dead puns). So with a great determination, I pulled the dark blue comforter down, fluffed up the pillows and climbed in. The bed was so comfortable, that I don’t even remember laying back onto the pillow. I was asleep within minutes.

* * *

_A young maiden in an icy blue gown paced in her room. She didn’t want to go to the ball that night. She absolutely detested such frivolous things. There were people out there dying of starvation, and here she was getting all dressed up to go to some fancy ball that could have fed at least a hundred people for a week. But of course, since her father was a Lord, she had to go to the Rockwood’s Autumn Solstice Ball. She stopped in her tracks as she thought about the Rockwood’s, or at least, one in particular._

_The famous Lord Endymion Rockwood, who was to be his father’s heir to the Rockwood estate, was the biggest…her lips deepened into a frown. He was just a horrible man, his reputation amongst the other ladies of the court gave him credit for his good looks but he was condemned for his antics with the ladies. He was a ladies man, and he had no qualms about hurting them and their reputations. Many a woman had been slandered because of him. The fact that her father was now pushing_ her _into his sights annoyed her to no end. He was hoping that she would be the one who would steal Lord Endymion’s heart. Little did he know, that she had no interest of doing so. The only reason that she was even going to this event was to make her father happy._

_That was it._

_“Serena?” Her father knocked on her door, drawing her out of her thoughts. He was smiling at her. “You look absolutely wonderful, my darling daughter. I might have to have some of my men escort us tonight, just in case a line of suitors begin to pursue you.”_

_She blushed at the compliment, “Father…” she warned, but couldn’t help but smile at him. Her father was a sweet man, and had gone through many hardships trying to raise her by himself since her mother had died in childbirth. They were really close, which only made her question his motives that much more._

_“I’m only kidding, Serena,” he smiled warmly at her. “ Are you ready then, my child? We shouldn’t keep the Rockwoods and their guests waiting.” He offered her his arm. She bit back a deep sigh and took it._

_Hopefully, this night wouldn’t be as horrible as she thought it was going to be._

* * *

 

_“Announcing Lord Ken Salvatore and his daughter, Lady Serena!” A man by the top of the stairs literally screamed at the top of his voice. Serena winced, before she followed her father, gracefully, down the stairs. She felt all eyes upon her and she tried not to blush. She didn’t like being the center of attention. It just wasn’t her, but there was a certain gaze, she couldn’t help but search for it, that wasn’t like the others. When her eyes met his, she knew why. Lord Endymion Rockwood was staring at her like he had just found his next victim._

* * *

I hadn’t expected to find Serenity lying in my bed, in a deep slumber when I had returned from reading the next day’s death scrolls. But when I walked into the bedroom, there she was, looking like a complete angel…in the bed of the Devil. I wanted to approach the bed and touch that golden halo of hers to see if it was actually like silk, but I refrained from doing so. If she would waken while I was doing such an act, she would probably…hm…what was the word for it these days? Ah, yes. She would probably freak out.

I had sort of learned my lesson from earlier when I had _assumed_ that she would have loved the dresses that I had picked out for her. She was not yet comfortable with being in hell, just yet. Even though a part of me was craving to have her fulfill one of her duties as my mistress. It had been almost three hundred years since I had last been with anyone in that way, since I hadn’t been with anyone while I was with Lady Serena. But my first two hundred years of being the Devil had had its advantages, until it started to become just something I did to pass the time. For some reason, I stopped and haven’t been with anyone since.

And it wasn’t until right this second that I realized just how much I missed it. Self-control was not one of my strong suits and since I had found out from Kunzite that Serenity went by the nickname of Serena, I just had the strong desire to throw her against a wall and have my way with her. I had thought the chances of Serenity being my love Serena reincarnated a long shot. Sure, they looked a lot alike, and they even sounded a like, but what were the chances? But then we had gotten into that argument about the dresses, and she reminded me so much of Serena, I had to kiss her to find out if she was…

 _No. Stop thinking like that. If Serenity was Serena reincarnated, shouldn’t she remember you, or have some sort of memories from that time?_ A part of me reminded myself, even though I could barely hear it over the feral growl that was rising in my chest, commanding me to pin her to the bed….

My fists clenched and I knew that I was going to have to find a different place to sleep that night. There was no way that I was going to be able to sleep in the same bed and keep myself from losing control. But she looked so peaceful sleeping there, I continued to watch her, knowing that I would be gone before she woke.

* * *

_His laugh was evil and I knew that this was no longer the Endymion I had been dancing with previously in my dreams. Sure enough, as I took a step back to get a good look at him, I saw his face change. It was now paler and the raven-black hair was now platinum blonde that almost looked white. Before my very eyes, Endymion had transformed into Diamond. The icy blue gown that I had been wearing was gone as well. I was back in that skimpy black lingerie that I had been killed in. A shiver of fear ran through me and I knew that I had to run. Had to escape this madman and his lustful desires. But I couldn’t move. I was frozen where I stood._

_He continued to laugh and grabbed both my arms._

_“Hello, my little whore,” he whispered into my ear, causing another shiver to run through me. “Did you miss me? ‘Cause I know that I missed you. At least being inside of you, dominating you. Making you scream my name as you come…”_

_I needed to run, but I had nowhere to go. Besides I was still frozen, and I watched helplessly as he picked me up with such ease and tossed me onto a bed. He threw my hands back into the handcuffs and unhooked my bra. I felt his erection against my stomach and I couldn’t help but whimper. Of course he mistook it as a whimper of impatience._

_“Don’t worry, I’ll be inside of you soon,” he replied running his hands along the sides of my breasts, which were now exposed to his view. I opened my mouth and began to scream.  
_

* * *

I sat up with a start, my eyes wide open and watering as if I had been crying and my hand clamped to my mouth. It took me a few seconds to realize that I had been dreaming that scene with Diamond, even though it had felt so real and I knew why. It was because I had already experienced the traumatic event, and no matter how hard I tried to make myself believe that I was strong, I really wasn’t. I was still traumatized by what Diamond had done to me. I couldn’t deny that, my subconscious was proof enough of this horrible realization. I tried to calm down, because I noticed that I was hyperventilating. I thought back to the dream _before_ it had become a nightmare. I was dressed up and my name was Serena Salvatore and I hated a man named Endymion Rockwood, who reminded me so much of the Devil Endymion that I knew right now. But the problem was that that dream had felt even _more_ realistic than the nightmare had. What did all of this mean?

In the midst of my nervous breakdown, I hadn’t realized that there was someone else in the room with me. But as I heard someone clear their throat, I looked up in alarm to find the Devil himself standing with his arms crossed by the door to the room. I instantly felt myself gulp. Just how long had he been standing there, watching me sleep? Had he seen my freak out? He soon answered my question as he walked closer to the bed, a look of concern on his face.

“Is everything okay?” He asked.

Yeah, that was the same question I was asking myself, and I knew the answer.

No.

Everything was _not_ okay.

* * *

There was a gun pressed to his temple. He looked up at the man who was aiming the gun at his face in amusement. He had seen this coming since the man had first asked to meet with him in private earlier this evening. As he brought out drinks he noticed that the man didn’t drink what was offered to him. This had caused him to watch the man carefully.

“Do you really think this is a smart idea, Andrew?” He asked the man.

“You killed her,” the man replied, pressing the gun deeper into his temple. “You murdered, Serena, you son of a bitch!” This only caused him to laugh at Andrew’s pain. It was obvious he had some attachment to the woman he had killed earlier that week, but he wasn’t the only one. He himself had been thinking constantly of the blonde haired vixen he had fucked and then murdered. He had thought that it was because his conscious was getting the better of him and he felt bad about killing her, but he knew the real reason. He had never had such amazing sex, even though she hadn’t really participated. He was regretting killing her now, for a whole different sort of reason…

“Stop laughing!” Andrew exclaimed near hysterics.

“Oh, you see I can’t do that, Andrew, because you’re wrong. I didn’t _just_ kill her. I also fucked her brains out, before I killed her.”

“Bastard!” He watched as Andrew undid the safety and knew that his life was going to come to an end. Sort of fitting that it would come at the hands of his last kill. Serena really did get her revenge after all.

Andrew, without a second’s hesitation, pulled the trigger and felt happy as he heard the hollow thud of Diamond’s body hit the ground below. He was still smiling when the security for the hotel broke down the door and hauled him away.

Serena, his best friend, would finally get to rest in peace.


	7. Face Up to What He's Done

I really should have known that this would happen. I mean, I may be a strong willed girl, but there are just some things in this world you can’t act strong about. I had gone through a horrible trauma, and after twenty-four hours (at least, I think it was twenty-four hours) I was finally realizing what had happened to me. Because, let’s face it, even though it had been my job to entice Diamond into bed, I wasn’t a willing partner in our “love making” session. I was raped, and then I was brutally murdered. And sure, you would think because I was brutally murdered I wouldn’t have to live through this PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), but no, I had some how entered a supernatural fiction novel. I was still alive, well, okay maybe not _alive_ but I was still… _here_. Things like this don’t usually happen in the real world. Then there was that other dream that I had experienced before my nightmare…it had felt so _familiar_ to me, I couldn’t understand why. Was there more going on here than I originally thought?

When had my life gotten so complicated? I couldn’t help but think as I realized that while I was thinking things over, and trying very hard not to have a mild panic attack, Endymion had asked me a question and I had yet to answer him. No wonder, when I raised my eyes to look at him, he was examining me like I had lost my mind. I guess, what he didn’t realize and what I was starting to realize, was that I was thinking along the same lines. I opened my mouth to finally reply to his question, is everything okay? When he opened his mouth and asked something that totally floored me.

“Why am I getting the feeling that there was more to your murder than you have been letting on?” My mouth that had been opened to voice my feelings was now just left open, agape almost in shock. Yeah, okay, I should have guessed that he was going to eventually figure out that I hadn’t just been murdered; I mean he is the _Devil_ after all, but I hadn’t thought he was going to figure it out so quickly. I had barely been here a day, and he was already reading me like he had known me his whole life. “Serenity?” His question brought me back to his original question.

“You’re probably getting the feeling that there was more to my murder than I was originally letting on, because you’re right. There is more.” I replied honestly. Trust me, I wanted to lie to him, but something he had said the other day made me realize that it might not be a good idea. He had saved me from an eternity of being tortured in the deepest circle of hell. I sort of _did_ owe him for that. Besides, he would probably find out the truth eventually, it would be better if he heard from me first hand.

“How much more?” He asked and walked closer to the bed. Like before, his proximity unnerved me to no end. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to kick him in the balls again, or throw myself into his arms and have him take me any which way he wanted. _Ah, bad Serenity, probably not the best idea to have him screw your brains out considering you just admitted to being raped._ I chastised myself, before looking back into those deep azure blue eyes. Man, those eyes, I felt like he was staring into the deepest part of my soul, almost as if he was enticing me to tell him all the secrets I possessed.

“Well….” I trailed off not really sure where to begin. “You already know that I was hired assassin when I died and that’s what ultimately led to my death."

“Yes, but how exactly does a girl like you become a hired assassin?”

I sighed. I should have seen that question coming. “Well, if you want to know that, then it would probably be best if I started from the beginning. I’m warning you now though, it’s a long story.”

“I’ve got time,” he replied and finally sat down across from me on the bed.

“Okay, well, a year ago, I had just graduated from college and I had loans to pay off. I was one of the very few who was lucky enough to get a job right after I graduated. It wasn’t what I wanted, but it was a job, income that would help me pay off the loans that I had racked up over the last four years. So I took the job and I was happy, working off my loans, living in an apartment and still looking for a job in my degree field. When everything went wrong….”

**_*Flashback*_ **

_The phone was ringing as I opened the door to my apartment after a long day of work. I groaned, my arms filled with grocery bags, and knew that I wasn’t going to make it to the phone in time to answer. Hopefully, whoever it was would leave a message. I shook my head and started putting the groceries away. It was probably only a telemarketer anyway. I dragged myself back towards my room and saw the flashing light of my answering machine. I groaned, so much for it being a telemarketer. I hit play and began to take off my clothes when I stopped dead in my tracks._

_“Hi, Serenity, it’s mom, I don’t want to worry you or anything but if you could give me a call as soon as you get this, I would sure appreciate it.” Click. Normally my mother calling me wouldn’t have worried me. As her only daughter, she was sure to check in with me every once and awhile, but the tone of her voice wasn’t the same. There was something wrong._

_I picked up the headset and dialed my mother’s number; she picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”_

_“Hey, mom, it’s Serenity. I just got your message. What’s going on?”_

_“Oh, Serenity, it’s so good to hear from you.”_

_“Mom, something is going on,” I replied. “What’s wrong?”_

_“I have something to tell you, and it isn’t good news.”_

_“I’m sure it can’t be as bad as you think it is, mom,” I tried to reason with her even though a hundred different scenarios went through my head as to what could be wrong._

_“But it is, honey,” she said and I knew without seeing her that she was crying. “You see, Serenity, I have cancer and without the operation the doctor’s say that I only have three months to live.”_

**_*End of Flashback*_ **

“My mother wasn’t well off. My dad when he passed really didn’t leave us much, so when it was time for me to go to college I made my way through scholarships and loans. The operation that would save my mother’s life was very expensive, tens of thousands of dollars. Money that neither one of us had. I was barely paying my rent, bills, and the loan payments. But she needed that operation.” I felt the tears appear in my eyes. The subject of my mother was always a sensitive one.

“So what happened?” Endymion asked curious.

“Lady luck happened.”

**_*Flashback*_ **

_Someone had been watching me. It only happened while I was at work and when I went to go talk to Andrew. At first I thought I was only imagining things, but as the days continued to pass, the feeling didn’t go away. I was being watched and now, I was being followed. Sure, I thought I was being paranoid, because I knew I was being watched, but the same person who was behind me when I left the doctor’s office was still following me. What were the chances that we were both going the same way? Slim to none._

_I didn’t want to know what exactly this person had planned for me, so I decided to confront whoever it was and made a quick turn that caused the person who was following me to be confused. I popped up behind him._

_“Okay, I don’t know who you think you are, but why in the world are you following me?” I asked my tone annoyed. Sure, I should have probably called the cops instead of confronting him. For all I knew he was a serial rapist, but I had just about enough of this and I needed to take control._

_The guy only chuckled at my show of defiance, “Well, I can see she was right about you. You are a little firework, aren’t you?”_

_“Who are you and what are you talking about? Are you the one who’s been watching me while I’ve been at work and at my friend’s business?” The anger was blowing out of my system a little bit. I wasn’t expecting his answer._

_“Yes, I have been watching you the last few days,” he replied, shrugging. “As to who I am, well, you know my friend Michelle, I believe?” My eyebrows furrowed together. Michelle was the other secretary that worked at the doctor’s office with me. How did she know this guy? “I see that you do, and you’re wondering how she knows me? Well, we’re sort of dating. I’m Haruka Tenoh, by the way.”_

_Wait. Haruka? That was a girl’s name and Michelle only played for a certain team… Oh. Wow. Was I ever wrong. I took the hand that she had offered and shook it. “Serenity Anderson. It’s nice to meet you, Haruka but why have you been watching me?”_

_“Michelle told me about your situation with your mother, and I think you and I can help each other.”_

_“Help each other how?” My curiosity got the better of me._

_“Well, I’m looking for a new employee and I think you would be perfect for the position.”_

_“What exactly would I be doing and how much does it pay?”_

_“Well, Serenity, I hope you have an open mind because the position is out there, but I promise you that it pays a lot of money. Enough to cover your mother’s hospital bills and to go on a shopping spree.”_

_“I’m listening…”_

**_*End of Flashback*_ **

“She told me about what she did and how she had lost one of her best assassins a few weeks ago, and had gotten into a jamb. Apparently, there was a high demand for hired assassins in Tokyo,” I shook my head still unnerved by the thought. “I was a little reluctant at first, because it just wasn’t right. Killing people for money? Not exactly a legal way to get the cash I needed, but Haruka took me on one of her missions and explained to me who the guy was and what he had done. It was disgusting.”

“Which convinced you?” Endymion said his brow furrowed. He wasn’t pleased with what I was explaining to him.

“I was desperate,” I replied. “And it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. When I got my first assignment I had a hard time pulling the trigger. I was conflicted about what I was doing, but it almost got me killed, so I had no choice but to kill the guy, and after that it got a tiny bit easier to do. The guilt was still hard to live with though.” I shook my head to get rid of the feeling of dread that fell over me.

“So, what happened the night you died?” Endymion asked. “You said it wasn’t as straight forward as you made it out to be when we were in the sentencing room. How did you end up being killed?”

“I don’t know how he knew who I was, but you see, it happened like this…”

* * *

I was disgusted and I didn’t know how to react to what she just told me. I could live with the fact that she was a hired assassin. She was desperate and needed money to help her mother with her hospital bills. But what I couldn’t live with was the real way she died. No wonder she had a nightmare! What that bastard did to her was just so…wrong and disgusting.

The problem with all of this was I found myself wondering why I cared so much. Serenity was just supposed to be my mistress of hell, and yes she did look a lot like my former love, Serena, but it just couldn’t be her. At least I didn’t think it could be her.

“Damn it!” I exclaimed and punched one of the caverns walls in frustration. It shouldn’t be this complicated to find out if the former love of your life had been reincarnated and had finally returned to you. Really, it shouldn’t. I stalked off to my study. I needed to think and I needed my advisor to well, advise me about how best to proceed.

* * *

After I had told him what had happened to me that night that I had been killed, he seemed to have a mask over his face so I couldn’t tell what he was really thinking about what I had just told him. That sort of frustrated me, not that I had really expected any different from him. I may have realized that I was falling for him, but I was just his little plaything that he had saved. His companion, someone who was to perform his wishes when he felt that I was ready and had adjusted to ‘living’ in hell. _Like_ that _was ever going to happen…._ I couldn’t help but think as I turned over in the bed. I had tried to go back to sleep after he left, but every time I closed my eyes, I kept seeing Diamond’s smirking face. This time, when I closed my eyes, I concentrated on the dream that I had had earlier, with Endymion and me as some chick named Lady Serena Salvatore.

It seemed to work, because I didn’t see Diamond’s face and I was able to go back to a deep slumber.     

* * *

_The evening was a beautiful one for all in attendance of the Autumn Solstice Ball that the Rockwood’s were holding. All except one, and that fair maiden was standing, surrounded by people that she didn’t have the heart to say to their faces that she hated them with all of her being. They were all so fake. Lady Serena knew that Lord Waldorf and his family were close to financial ruin and were only at the ball that evening to have the other families invest in a business idea that was failing desperately. Lady Alice Iraheta was having an affair with her husband’s business partner, and it seemed to go on from there. But, the only reason that Lady Serena didn’t say anything was because she was trying to avoid Lord Endymion Rockwood, who she had been catching gazing at her like she was something to eat all evening._

_Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned away from the people that she was talking to. A smile lit up her face when she saw who had brought her out of the horrible conversation that she was having._

_“Lady Molly!” She found herself exclaiming. “I can’t believe it, how are you my dear friend? I feel like we haven’t spoken or written to each other in months!” She engulfed the red haired young woman in a hug, which caused her to chuckle._

_“Lady Serena,” she greeted a smile on her face. She looked at the people that she had been talking to, “Are you sure that I can drag you away from these fine people? It looked like you were in a real deep conversation about the Iraheta’s crops and farms.”_

_Serena glared at her friend and turned to the group that she had been talking to, “It was lovely chatting with you, but I am in desperate need to catch up with Lady Molly. Have a wonderful evening.” She smiled and curtsied before dragging Molly away from the group that she had spent far too long with that evening. That familiar prickling of hairs at the back of her neck went up, letting her know that Lord Endymion had noticed her departure from the group and was still watching her. She grimaced and turned to Molly who was watching her as well._

_“Is there a reason that you’re staring, Molly?” She found herself asking, her voice curt._

_“You seem like you’re being harassed, Serena,” she replied. “Is everything okay? Or is a certain lord’s attention driving you mad?”_

_Serena sighed, “So you’ve noticed that he’s watching me.”_

_“It would be very hard to not notice it when he’s openly staring at you. What have you done to entice the young lord’s attention so, my friend?”_

_“Absolutely nothing, but being born with beauty and a womanly figure,” Serena countered. “You know as well as I do that is the only reason the lord is looking at me with such attention. I have been marked as his next victim…” She cast a gaze over her shoulder to find that those deep blue eyes were looking her way. And she hated the fact that as her eyes met his a jolt of electricity ran through her frame. As she turned back to her friend she felt herself grimace. “Please tell me you have every intention of standing by my side for the rest of the evening.”_

_“No promises,” Molly smiled. “But I will try.” They both sent looks at Lord Endymion before turning away and moving further into the room while chatting about how they had been since they last saw each other.  
_

* * *

_Eventually, the night came to an end. Molly had already left with her parents, which left Serena standing by the door, waiting for her father to say his goodbyes to everyone. After being able to avoid him all night, Lord Endymion was finally able to catch her by herself. She noticed him further down the hall and prayed that her father would finish soon so that they could leave before he noticed her, but just as she finished her prayer, he saw her. Mumbling mild obscenities, she turned her gaze elsewhere, but still felt him as he stood beside her._

_“Hello, Lady Serena,” he said with a deep voice that was hushed to a whisper._

_“Hello, Lord Endymion,” she replied, willing her father to finish his goodbyes and come to take her home. She didn’t want to be standing next to this man at the moment and she couldn’t think of how else to get out of this situation without being rude._

_“You’ve been avoiding me all night.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement and she didn’t know how to reply to that, so she said nothing and refused to look at him. But this didn’t stop him from continuing to speak to her. “But that’s perfectly acceptable to me, Serena, because I love the chase. Especially when I know that there is a wonderful prize at the end. Good evening, Lord Salvatore, I hope you had a pleasant evening?” Serena, who’s face had flushed in anger (nothing else, as she kept telling herself), looked up to her father shocked to see him standing there, and cursing him at the same time for deciding to show up now._

_“Lord Endymion, I did have a wonderful evening,” he replied. “Please thank your parents for me again, and what exactly have you’ve been discussing with my daughter?” The question made her want to smack her father, desperately. Why did he have to ask it, when he could have been done with the pleasantries and been on their way home, where she didn’t have to see Endymion until the next social event?_

_“I was just discussing with Lady Serena, if it would be all right if I called on her tomorrow afternoon,” he replied smiling, but to Serena he was smirking in victory._ Please, tell him that it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to call on me, please _, she pleaded in her mind, but for the umpteenth time that night her plea went unanswered._

_“Why, of course it would be,” her father answered._

_“Perfect, then I shall see you tomorrow afternoon, Lady Serena,” he turned to her and took her hand to kiss her knuckles. The whole time she fought rolling her eyes in annoyance and inside she was already plotting of ways to become ill or breaking a limb so that way she wouldn’t have to go out with him._            

* * *

While Serenity was sleeping the masters and mistresses of hell had been called to the sentencing room. A man had arrived in hell, and was in need of a sentence for his horrible crimes. As usual, the Devil didn’t attend this sentencing, for he didn’t see a need to, and was still in a deep discussion with his advisor who had been with him since the beginning about what to do about Serenity. The mistresses of hell, which now included Mina, stood by their master’s thrones and waited for Lita to bring in the man that needed to be sentenced. However, unlike when Mina and Serenity were sentenced the thrones were now on the same level and sat within inches of the other. As they waited for Lita to bring in the man, the others started conversing about the missing master and mistress.

“Anyone know how Endymion and Serenity are fairing since their fight earlier?” Jadeite asked as he took Raye’s hand in his. “We haven’t heard any more screaming or _other_ noises from their room. In fact, we haven’t really heard anything. Are we sure she’s still here?”

“I don’t think she would leave, but you’re right there really hasn’t been any noises coming from their room,” Amy replied to the question.

“I talked to him earlier after he had apologized to Serenity, and he’s sort of preoccupied by something,” Kunzite answered. The masters and mistresses turned to him with looks of question in their eyes. “He thinks she might be Lady Serena, reincarnated.” There were gasps of shock from Raye and Amy, and the masters’ eyes widened in shock, but Mina was the only one who didn’t understand what was going on

“Who is Lady Serena?” She asked.

“We’ll explain it later,” Amy replied as Lita walked in followed by a man with platinum blonde hair. Everyone in the room was silent and watched him walk in. He seemed curious to know what was going on, but he didn’t look scared like the other’s had before him. If anything, he looked amused. Lita stopped and so did the man.

“We are gathered here today to determine the fate of this lost soul, Diamond Chambers. During his time among the living, he traveled down a multitude of wrong paths. His crimes are many, including but not only subjected to sexual assault with married and unmarried women and many murders. He died August 23, 2010 of a gunshot wound to the head. Masters, I now give you the floor to discuss his fate.”

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Kunzite asked the man.

Diamond simply smiled, “Nothing whatsoever.”

“Very well, then we have decided. Diamond Chambers, you are to spend an eternity in the third circle of hell, where the faces of those you have murdered and assaulted will torture you. Take him away.” A woman came out of the shadows with a whip by her side. Diamond stared at her in wonder and now, that he knew what he was up against, fear.

The woman smiled an evil smile, “With pleasure.”


	8. The Past is SO Overrated

I woke up, but not with a start like I had earlier that evening. This time when I opened my eyes and registered where I was, my mind drifted back to the dream that seemed to be a continuation of the one I had earlier before the nightmare. Who in the world was Serena Salvatore? And why was Endymion the Devil, in the dream as Lord Endymion Rockwood? My lips formed a straight line as I began to think about everything that had happened since I arrived in Hell. When Mina and I had first arrived, the cause of our deaths had been wrong. Mina and I had both been murdered, but for some reason they thought that we had committed suicide. After everything had been straightened out the Masters, Kunzite and Endymion, had decided that we would become their mistresses instead of being sent to the deepest part of hell. Then there was the kiss that Endymion and I had shared. For some reason it felt so familiar to me. I couldn’t understand why, and even now I didn’t understand the familiar sensation. And now these dreams had started. Why was I beginning to believe that there might be something more happening here then I originally thought?

I frowned and got out of bed. The only way to find out if my suspicions were true was to do some investigating, and I wasn’t going to be able to do that by staying in bed for the day. I slipped into the closet, still taking a few moments to gape at the size, and wondering what in the world the Lord of the Underworld could need such a big closet for. I shook my head and turned to the racks of dresses that was still where they had been the last time I had walked in. I sighed, and picked one out, already missing my jeans and t-shirts. Obviously, with a man who was still used to the sixteenth century where women were made to wear shifts and corsets…I shuddered. Maybe these prom like style dresses wouldn’t be so bad…

When I walked out of the bathroom, now changed into the black floor length gown, I realized that I had no idea what had happened to the black stilettos that I had worn the day before and knew that walking around the corridors of hell barefoot wasn’t the best idea. I began to snoop through the closet looking for the shoes. You know that saying that you shouldn’t snoop through other people’s closets because you’re not sure what kind of things you could find? Skeletons you’ll find, etc? Well, I should have taken that saying more to heart. As I was snooping through the countless black button down shirts and black pants (I mean seriously how many shirts and pairs of pants in the same color does the Devil need?) looking for a pair of shoes that would fit me, I came across a wooden chest. Out of all the things in Endymion’s closet that I thought I was going to find, a simple wooden chest wasn’t one of them.

I bit my lip not sure if I wanted to open it or not. I should _probably_ respect the Devil’s privacy, but the drawback of doing something you know you shouldn’t do? You really, _really_ want to do it. I looked behind me to make sure that he hadn’t appeared while I was snooping and debating whether or not to open the chest. That’s all I needed was for him to find me doing this. I hadn’t really seen Endymion’s temper, well okay I did but it was only briefly, yet that encounter had ended in a hot and steamy kiss….

 _Okay, get a grip, Serenity! It won’t do to think about that right now. You have bigger fish to fry. Now open the damn box before he shows up and finds out what you’re up to._ I sighed and turned back to the box. Like I said before, it was a simple wooden chest, but what was Endymion doing with such a simple item in this magnificent closet? I shook my head and opened the lid.

There was a portrait inside the box, and a bundle of letters tied with a pink ribbon that was beginning to fray and discolor. My frown seemed to deepen. Why would the Lord of the Underworld have a bundle of letters and a portrait in a wooden box? Did they hold some sort of meaning to him? Very carefully, I turned the portrait over and felt myself gasp.

It was me. Only it wasn’t me, at least it couldn’t be me. From what I had heard from the Masters and other Mistresses, Endymion lived during the sixteenth century. There was no way that the girl in the painting was me. I hadn’t been alive back then. So who was this girl who looked so shockingly similar to me? I turned it back over, and saw a name that stopped my heart dead in its tracks.

 _Serena Salvatore, March 5, 1564._ The same name of the girl whom I was dreaming about, or who I’d actually been experiencing dreams through. She actually existed. Serena Salvatore was real, and Endymion had been, what? In love with her? I fingered the bundle of envelopes, my curiosity burning to read what they contained…

“What do you think you’re doing, Serenity?” A voice asked from directly behind me. My eyes widened and I stood up quickly, totally forgetting that the chest, letters, and the portrait were in my lap. They fell to the floor, the chest making a thudding noise. I turned around, a blush creeping up on my cheeks, when my eyes met….

The other mistresses. I breathed out in relief, and clutched my hand to my chest. “Have you ever heard of this thing called knocking? I thought for sure that you were Endymion!” I exclaimed and bent down to pick up the things I had dropped. Mina and Lita came to help, but Amy and Raye stood by watching at the door, just in case Endymion showed up while we were “cleaning.” Lita picked up the portrait I had dropped and stared at it then at me.

“Do you know who this is?” She asked me, her voice very low. Mina who picked up the letters and the chest looked up in alarm. Lita’s tone had always been soft and tender since we came to Hell. This tone was harder and had a tint of suspicion in it.

“Serena Salvatore,” I nodded my head. “But why does he have a picture of her in this box? And why do I look like her, Lita? Is there something going on here, more than what I was told when I first came?”

Raye, Amy, and Lita exchanged looks, as if they were unsure of what to say to my questions. This just proved my fears. There was something going on here. My dreams about Serena Salvatore and my shockingly similar appearance were related. There _had_ been a motive for Endymion to “save” me from my horrible fate. He believed that I was this Serena Salvatore. But I still didn’t understand the connection. Why would he care if I was Serena Salvatore reincarnated? From what I had seen of the dreams, the only thing he wanted Serena for was as another notch in his belt. Or at least that’s what Serena believed.

“How do you know about Serena Salvatore?” Amy asked. “We barely even knew about Serena Salvatore until…well, let’s just say we were here awhile before we learned the tale of why we were really here. And why the Masters picked us.”

“I know about Serena Salvatore, because I’ve been dreaming about her ever since I’ve arrived. The last dream, I was at the Autumn Solstice Ball or something and I saw Endymion, only he was Lord Endymion Rockwood. What the fuck is going on?” I was near hysteria. Ever since my death, too much crazy shit was happening. I found out there was actually a Hell, and apparently I look a lot like some girl from the damn sixteenth century that the Devil had lusted after back then. Not to mention I still hadn’t gotten over the way I had died, or my rape. If one more thing happened, I was going to explode and have a nervous breakdown. I could feel it.

“Serenity, I think it’s time we told you why you and Mina are really here,” Lita sighed and motioned for us to join her in the other room. I stayed behind to put the box back where I had found it. There was no need for Endymion to know that I had snooped through his things. I didn’t need him to throw another hissy fit. Even though I would really love to have a reason to kick him in the balls again. It would make me feel a whole hell of a lot better.

I walked out of the closet and made my way to the sitting area that I had only walked through the day before. I took a seat next to Mina and we waited patiently for the other three to start. I was curious to know the true reason I was here, as was Mina.

“As you know, Endymion became the Devil over five hundred years ago. But before he became the Devil, he was deeply in love. Her name was Serena Salvatore, and he admitted that at first he wanted her to be just another conquest. But as he got to know Serena better he came to love her deeply. After only nine weeks of knowing each other, he proposed to her and she accepted. However, the night that he proposed, the Devil at the time, a man named Sapphire, approached him and told him that it was his destiny to become the next Devil. Of course, Endymion didn’t believe the man, and thought that he was only spinning tales. He threw the man out of his rooms and didn’t hear from the man again, even though he had threatened the life of the Lady Serena.

“A few months passed, and on the day of his wedding, the maid who was attending to Serena ran screaming into his room. She couldn’t speak, she was so shaken at what she had seen. Endymion, in alarm ran to Serena’s room and saw her body on the ground. She was dead. Sapphire appeared holding the dagger that he had used to murder her. In a blind rage, Endymion killed him and was then transported to Hell. He became the Devil.” Amy explained.

“But how does that explain why we are here?” I asked.

“We’re getting to that,” Raye replied. “This leads us to Kunzite. He lived a hundred years after Endymion became the Devil and fell in love with a girl too. Her name was Minako and she was the only one to warm his usually stone cold heart. However, on the eve of their first child’s birth, she was brutally murdered by her doctor. In fury, Kunzite killed the doctor and then killed himself knowing that he had nothing else to live for. When he was tried by the Devil himself, he told his story and Endymion took pity on him and saved him.”

“But what does that have to do with us?” Mina asked. I looked at her shocked that she had spoken without any fear lacing her voice. Somehow, even though the girls had only gone through Endymion and Kunzite’s tales, I had a feeling that I knew how Nephirite, Zoicite and Jadeite’s tales went as well. But the question was how was this possible? _Could_ it even be possible?

“Everything, for you see, the reason Kunzite and Endymion chose you was because you resemble their former loves. Serena and Minako didn’t show up in Hell, because they were too pure. Over the years, their souls have been reincarnated and with the new centuries, their souls have become less pure.”

“But how do they know that we’re them?” I asked, feeling it was the only logical question.

“It’s because of your names. They are really close to the original names of their loves, and then your appearances. And I’m surprised that you can doubt that you are Serena Salvatore, Serenity, considering you’ve been having dreams with her in them,” Raye pointed out. “I hate to tell you, but they aren’t dreams, they’re memories from Serena Salvatore’s time. That part of her soul is reawakening. Maybe because you’ve been in such close contact with Endymion?” She muttered this last part and all I could do was stare. A part of me didn’t want to believe what she was saying, but the other part reminded myself of everything I had gone through. How could I _not_ believe what she was saying? The probability that this was all bull shit was pretty slim to none. Besides the feelings I was having towards Endymion after only knowing him for such a short period of time were now making perfect sense. It was because I _had_ known him before.

This was just too much for one girl to take. Forget what I said before about being strong willed. My will would have needed to be made of iron to not take a slight blow from this.

“But what about Mina?” I asked. “She hasn’t had any dreams of her past life. Have you?” I turned to her and she brought her gaze back from the carpet to my face. They were wide in shock. The answer was plain on her face.

“I did, and I thought I was only going crazy, but now…” she trailed off. “I think I love him, you know. Kunzite, I mean. That first day when he saved me, when he came to his room, he was just so kind and…” she slumped her head into her hands. I patted her on the back in comfort to let her know that she wasn’t going crazy that I understood what she was going through. And it was true, I did. I was struggling with the same thing myself.

“Kunzite is going to be real happy to hear that,” Amy whispered looking at the other two girls. “But what about you, Serenity? Are you feeling the same about Endymion?”

“I am,” I nodded my head. “But I can’t tell him that, just yet. Everything is so messed up and crazy. And I barely know him. Sure, Lady Serena knows him, but not all of her memories have reawakened yet.”

“We understand,” Lita said. “And Endymion will too. How about we leave the two of you by yourselfs for the time being? You probably need the time to think things over…”

* * *

Leaving Mina and me by ourselves was the worst idea that those three girls had ever had. Mina decided that she needed time to herself and went to her room that she now shared with Kunzite. I stayed in the same position that I had been in when the girls told us that we were Endymion and Kunzite’s former lovers. My mind was on overdrive and I had been staring at the same spot on the carpet for the last two hours. I half expected Endymion to walk through that door, while I was thinking things over. But I didn’t want him to. Well, at least, part of me didn’t want him to. The other wanted him to walk through that door and then have things get heated rather quickly.

 _That must be Lady Serena talking_ , I couldn’t help but think to myself. After five hundred years of waiting she probably was getting rather restless. She died a virgin. At least, I _think_ she died a virgin. The only two memories I had were of their first meeting. I had no idea what had happened in between that time and her death, other than the marriage proposal. I sighed and blinked my eyes. My butt was getting rather sore, and I was tired of sitting in the room. I needed to do some more exploring, and I needed to take my mind off of this. Now.

I got up carefully from the sofa and walked towards the door.

* * *

The tour did nothing to settle my mind. I kept drifting back to what the others had told me and those damn memories that I had thought were dreams. When did my life become so damn complicated? I couldn’t help but think. Sure, back when I was alive, I had been a secretary who had become a contract killer to make ends meet and to pay for my mother’s hospital bills. But after everything, this seemed tame. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes for five seconds.

And that’s how Endymion found me.


	9. Up Against the Wall (And the Couch and the Bed)

“What are you doing here, Serenity?” The now deep and familiar voice of Endymion rushed through my senses. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my groan muffled. It wasn’t fair. After all the time I spent without him around since I told him everything, the one time I actually _need_ him to stay away from me…Well, he shows up. Damn, this guy really knew how to work on my very fragile nerves. In fact, as I opened my eyes to stare at him, he was standing way too close to me. So close that I could just reach out and yank that delicious mouth…. _Stop it, damn you!_ A voice inside me screamed. _You are in too much of a fragile state to do this right now. You just accepted that you were raped and also found out that you’re the reincarnation of the Devil’s bride-to-be that was murdered the day of their wedding. Rein in those hormones, Sere, you’ll hate yourself for it later if you don’t._

But the voice went almost silent. He had stepped even closer to me, because I didn’t answer his question. His fingers reached to cup underneath my chin, and all of a sudden it was a clash of deep azure blue versus my cornflower blue eyes. The jolt of electricity that ran through my veins, reminded me so much of that first kiss we shared back in the closet. Hell, I wanted to have his lips on mine again and other parts of my body for that matter too. Endymion’s eyes deepened so that they almost looked black, and I knew that he was feeling the same way I was. We were both just waiting to see who would make the first move. But I needed to reply to his question first, right?

“I just needed to clear my head,” I replied, finally. “And I needed to get out of that room.” Our eyes were still locked on the others, and his fingers were still underneath my chin. _Clear my head_ , I scoffed in my head, _yeah, right._ If anything, I was doing the opposite. I was clouding it over so I didn’t have to think about my problems, and even though I knew I was going to regret it later (I mean, _really_ regret it later), I didn’t care at all. I just knew that I needed him, _now_.

“Couldn’t you sleep? Or did you have some more nightmares?” He whispered, his voice lower and his lips so tantalizingly close to my own that I didn’t want to answer his question at all. I just wanted to shut him up, because he was wasting so much time that could be spent doing other more fun things. A shiver ran up my spine at the thought. Damn that Devil!

“No, I did sleep, and I didn’t have any nightmares. There were just some other dreams that had my mind preoccupied.” I wanted to look away from those eyes, because as the words left my lips, I knew that he was going to ask what other dreams there could possibly be and I would tell him the truth… Wait, that actually might help move things along if he knew that I was having memories of our past life together.

But he didn’t even ask, his mouth finally crashed down upon my own and our lips met in a crazy fire of passion and sparks that I didn’t know could exist. The kiss resembled that of the one we shared in the closet, but now I knew the reason behind the passion. And it scared me to know that I was acting on the feelings of a five hundred year old spirit of my former self. Like I said before, I knew I was going to regret this later, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t keep these emotions within me at bay anymore. His tongue teased my lower lip to beckon entrance into my mouth and I allowed him in, feeling my back press against the stone of the hallway. Anyone could walk down that hall and see me, no wait, _us_ doing this. But my mind was too clouded, just the way I wanted, to see reason.

* * *

I shouldn’t be doing this.

The thought was rushing through my head as my lips molded perfectly with Serenity’s. I had just gotten out of my meeting with my advisor, who had told me to avoid her at all costs until I _knew_ for a fact that she was Serena. But as luck may have it, there she had been standing against the wall, her beautiful eyes closed and she almost looked angelic. I couldn’t resist finding out the reason for her posture there. Then our eyes met and all logical thought left my mind. My eyes had focused only on her pink tinged lips and only somewhat her reply to my question about the dreams. _There were just some other dreams that had my mind preoccupied_. The way she had said it, made me only guess at what these ‘other dreams’ might be. I couldn’t take it anymore and let my lips attack hers, in a heat-searing kiss that put the one in the closet to shame.

When I felt her back hit the wall behind her, I knew that there was going to be no going back. I was going to take her, and I wasn’t going to stop until I had tired her out into exhaustion. My hands travelled down to the skirt of her dress that she was wearing, and hiked it up. The creamy flesh of her legs was revealed to me as I pulled away from her lips. She looked at me with hooded eyes and I knew that there was no disagreement. She wanted this as much as I did, and my member was in no danger of being kneed this time around. I only smirked as I came back in, kissing her silky smooth neck in the process.      

* * *

He was doing wicked things to my body and he hadn’t even touched me _there_ yet. Damn it, this Devil was talented. His hands were on my hips and jerked me upwards. I lifted my legs and encircled them around his waist, drawing him closer to my very heated core and me. There was a bulge in his pants that touched that spot and I couldn’t bite back the moan that escaped my lips. I felt him smile against my neck and felt myself get a tad bit irked. After all this it was still a game to him, but I found myself smirking. He obviously hadn’t learned from the closet. I had tricks too.

I reached down to the zipper of his pants and felt him stiffen even more. My smirk turned into a smile then as I unbuttoned and unzipped his pants with no effort. I reached into the waistband of his boxers and took his member into my hand. His assault on my neck stopped, and he breathed roughly into my ear. I stroked slowly at first, reveling in the fact that I had power over him, but it didn’t take long for Endymion to see through my game. He snaked a hand to grab my wrist, pulling it away from his member. I looked up at him and he only shook his head in response as he placed my arm above my head in a death like grip. He leaned back into me, his lips finding the very sensitive spot on my collarbone and I moaned again in ecstasy.    

* * *

It had been too close. When she had reached inside my pants and took my penis into her hand, I almost lost it right there. But I had regained my senses and stopped her. She wasn’t going to have her way with me that easily. I had been waiting a very long time, and I wasn’t a very patient man. It was time to stop teasing and finally claim what was rightfully mine. I let go of her wrist, lowering my hand to roam over one of her many curves, causing her to shudder. I smiled, despite myself, and brought her closer to me. She gasped….

* * *

His pants and boxers were gone, and I felt him at my entrance. How in the world had he done that? I know for a fact that I had been wearing black lace underwear and he had been wearing pants! But then again, he was the Devil. He had tricks for these things, which were very convenient. He moved, sliding into me so crisply, so cleanly until…

 _Oh, hell_. My head fell back and my breathing increased. He was filling me completely. I didn’t want him to leave, but knew that he needed to move or else I might totally lose what was left of my sanity. I opened my eyes again to see Endymion brace his palms against the stonewall behind me. He pulled out, all the way, and came back in causing me to mewl in pleasure.

* * *

She was so tight! When I entered her, I thought that I was going to spill inside of her before we had even begun, but I knew that I had to have her come first and somehow was able to pull out. Before I plunged right in again. Her moans of pleasure were driving me, and I sped up. Her hips, eventually met me with each stroke, and soon I felt her walls clench around me.  

* * *

All the muscles in my body clenched, and soon after I felt myself come. I screamed the whole way, and had no qualms about it. Feeling very satisfied, I waited for Endymion to have his release, but he just smirked at me when my eyes met his.

“I think it’s time we moved this somewhere more private, don’t you?” He asked, and before I could answer we were incased into a wall of flame. I was surprised that it didn’t burn, and wondered where exactly he was taking me, but I didn’t have long to wonder. Soon the flame faded and we were back in his rooms. He pushed me gently and I fell backwards onto one of the leather couches in the room, legs splayed open. I looked up in question, but the words died on my lips, for standing before me was a completely nude, Endymion. My eyes ran over the very sculpted muscular chest, and my fingers itched to touch him. He kneeled down before me, and pulled me closer to the edge of the couch. The skirt of my dress had dropped from when he hiked it and he took it in his hands, and pulled.

The fabric tore, and he continued to pull as the tear moved upwards, until it was clearly two pieces of a whole. My black bra was now visible, but he didn’t seem to care. He lifted himself above me and pushed the straps of the dress down my shoulders. I could feel his erection pressing into my stomach and I then realized that this wasn’t over yet. No, Endymion had only just begun.  

* * *

She was an absolute vision clad in only her black bra. Her creamy skin basically begged for my touch, and her chest was heaving. She looked breath taking and I could only imagine what she was going to look like once I was through with her. I dropped back down and spread her legs apart to give me better access. I placed a kiss on her inner thigh and moved deeper.

* * *

I arched upwards as I felt him slip his tongue into my core. He lapped at me like he was a cat lapping at milk. I felt myself going higher and higher as he continued to lick at my core, until I thought I wasn’t going to be able to take anymore. He pulled away and I almost screamed in protest. But he wasn’t gone for long. When he came back, his index finger delved inside my folds. My hips bucked upwards, taking him deeper inside of me. He pumped furiously, adding more fingers as he did so. Driving me to the brink of insanity. He knew that this wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted him and his member back where they belonged.

 _Wait, what? Where they belonged? Where did_ that _come from?_ I found myself thinking, having the briefest moment of clarity before he thrusted his two fingers deep within, and caused me to forget everything.

* * *

I pulled my fingers out of her and brought them up to my face. They were dripping in her fluids, and I couldn’t help but smirk in victory. She was mine, I wasn’t going to share her with anyone, and if that Diamond fellow who had violated her came to hell, I was going to make him regret ever laying eyes on her in the first place. Even if she wasn’t Serena. _Wait, what? Where did_ that _come from?_ I shook my head and looked back at the fallen angel who was perched on the couch. Her face blissed out. I licked away the fluids and stood up as I did so. I felt her eyes on me. She was wondering what exactly I was up to, I just smiled as I leaned in.

* * *

He picked me up bridal style and began walking. I sort of knew where he was going, and again, I really didn’t care. He walked into the bedroom and placed me onto the bed, then draped himself over me. He crashed his lips down on mine again and his hands began to wander along my curves, stopping briefly at my bra. He lifted me with ease and unclasped it, flinging it away. His lips left mine and travelled down to my now bare breasts. He took one in his hand and began to massage it, while he suckled on the other. My back arched, pushing more into his mouth. Damn, that felt too good.

He stopped his ministrations and brought his lips back to mine. Our tongues danced together, and I felt him poised at my entrance again. I brought my legs up to encircle his waist, hooking my ankles together. I pushed forward and he was inside of me again. He groaned in pleasure, and I somehow was able to turn us over. He was now flat on his back and I was on top. He broke away and stared up at me. A mix of shock and enjoyment in his eyes caused me to smile. It shouldn’t be too shocking that I wanted to be on top. I wasn’t a virgin like his precious Serena was. I knew what I was doing. I pulled back, causing him to shudder, before I quickly impaled myself again on his member. His hips arched upwards thrusting himself deeper into me. I moaned again and he only hissed in response. I pulled back again, my eyes locked on his, before he sat up, bringing me down onto his penis. I was close, and he knew it, as his lips met mine in another heated kiss. When he broke away, I heard him whisper.

“I want to hear you scream my name.”

And that’s exactly what I did.  

* * *

Sometime later, I found myself curled up and pressed against Endymion’s side. His hand was unconsciously running through my hair, and I was quite content to lie there. I was actually surprised that he had stayed after we had thoroughly screwed each other’s brains out, but I didn’t mind. It was actually nice to have him lying there beside me. My eyes were just starting to close, when he stopped running his fingers through my hair. I didn’t know what was wrong, so I didn’t say anything.

But he did.

“What did you mean earlier when you said that there were other dreams that had you mind preoccupied?” My eyes opened wide as I remembered the true reason I wanted to have sex with Endymion. To cloud things over, to not think about everything that had happened. That included finding out that I was the reincarnated form of Serena Salvatore. Endymion didn’t know that I knew about her, and that I might be her. He had no idea. But he had just asked the question that would lead me to telling him the truth.

“Well, they’re not really dreams,” I replied, quietly.

“What do you mean?”

“They’re more like memories.”

“Memories of what exactly?” He asked, and I didn’t answer right away. That seemed to be a problem with us. He was always asking questions and I was taking too long to answer them. The question was why did I take so long? I eventually knew that I was going to have to tell him the truth. Hell, he’d probably figure it out if he slept in the same bed as me from now on, but it was still hard to tell him that I knew his real reason for picking me, for saving me, from my dreaded sentence. What if he got angry? What if he began to love me for all the wrong reasons? Sadly enough, I wanted him to love me for _me_ not because Serena Salvatore’s spirit was reincarnated within me. The fact that I even _wanted_ the Devil to love me back scared the shit out of me. I wasn’t one to believe in those dumb romantic comedies. I was such a realist when it came to love when I was alive, it was kind of sad to know that I had changed in such a short amount of time.

“Serenity?” His voice interrupted my thoughts. “What are these memories that you’re talking about?”

I sighed. I had to tell him and it wasn’t going to be easy. “Well, they’re memories about you and a woman named Serena Salvatore.”

* * *

The room was eerily silent except for the rustling of paper. Two men, both lawyers, were looking over the case file, trying to figure out if they had gone wrong at anytime during the trial. A man with sandy blonde hair watched his lawyer with an amused expression on his face. He felt bad for the guy since the case was an easy win for the prosecutor. Andrew had killed Diamond Chambers. It was the truth and it was a fact. He had been found at the crime scene with the gun used to kill Diamond in his hand. When he had been arrested he had laughed his bloody head off. Of course, he couldn’t tell anyone the true reason why he had killed Diamond Chambers, because if he could, then maybe he would have been able to get away with two years tops. But no, in this case, he was facing freedom or the death sentence.

And the jury had finally decided his fate.

“Please rise,” the bailiff said. Andrew rose from his seat and watched as the man with dark hair and wearing judge’s robes walked into the courtroom. He motioned for them to sit down as he sat in his chair. He turned to the jury box.

“Madam Fore Person, have you reached a verdict?”

“We have, your honor,” the woman said, looking directly at Andrew.

“What say you?”

“We the jury, in the matter of Andrew Williams versus the people of California find the defendant guilty of first degree murder.” He lowered his head, and tried not to smile. It was fitting, he guessed, to be sentenced to death. At least, he had done something worthy in this world.

Namely, killing that son of a bitch and letting his best friend rest in peace.


	10. The Halls of Hell

_What she was doing was wrong. Serena knew that, but for some reason she didn’t care. All she knew was that she didn’t want to spend the afternoon with Lord Endymion Rockwood. How could her father do this to her, was the first thought that had run through her mind the previous evening. But the second was a plot. It was clear to Serena that her father wanted Endymion to be interested in her and Endymion_ was _interested. Just not for the reasons that her father believed. So she also knew that he was looking forward to this ‘date’ and would stop at nothing to achieve it. However, if Serena were already out when he came to call for her, well, he wouldn’t get this ‘date.’ But he would reschedule or come to town and hunt her down…._

_Serena sighed, causing her maid to look up at her in alarm._

_“Are you well, Lady Serena?” She asked raising the umbrella over her charge to shield her from the sun._

_“I’m fine, Gabriella. Just realizing how hopeless a situation that I’m in is. It shouldn’t be this difficult to avoid unwanted advances.”_

_“Unwanted advances? Would the lady care to explain?”_

_“Lord Endymion has made it obvious that he is lusting after me. I tried to avoid him all night last night, but he was able to catch me right before father and I left. He asked for my company this afternoon. My father foolishly agreed, thinking his intentions are pure and now, I’m avoiding him.”_

_“That is why the lady decided to go to the market today?” Her maid asked, not in accusation but in understanding. Serena couldn’t help but smile. Gabriella was not like other maids. She was polite, did her chores, but she was something more. For as long as Serena could remember, Gabriella worked for her family and since her mother’s death had been a close confidant for her. No matter what silly scheme Serena came up with, Gabriella went along with it, no questions asked and also didn’t tell Serena’s father what his daughter was truly up to._

_“Yes, that’s exactly why,” she replied. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes into the village to look for me. It just depends on how dedicated he is on catching me.”_

_“If the lady would forgive me, but maybe that is why the lady is doing this?”_

_“Excuse me?” Serena stopped in her tracks causing Gabriella to walk further on without her charge. She froze and turned around to stare at Serena who was shaking in anger._

_“I – I mean no disrespect, Lady Serena, but maybe you have another intention behind abandoning Lord Endymion this afternoon. Maybe you wish to have him chase you…” she trailed off as she watched her charge shake harder. She had gone too far. How dare_ she _insinuate that_ she _had other intentions by abandoning Lord Endymion?_ But don’t you? _A little voice in her head asked her._ You want him to chase after you, because if he does that means that his intentions just _might_ be pure. _Serena balked at the thought. That wasn’t why she was doing this! She was avoiding Endymion for a reason._

 _He was a known ladies man, he only wanted one thing when it came to women and it_ wasn’t _marriage or love. It was a known fact and Serena knew for a fact that he wasn’t going to change his spots. He would always be_ that _kind of man and she was just his next victim. That was all there was to this. She was just trying to save herself from a lunatic…but she had to admit, in a perfect world she would have hoped for that option. And now that Gabriella had put that idea in her head, she couldn’t stop thinking about it._

 _Gabriella watched as the demeanor of her charge changed, and wondered if Serena had just realized her other intention of avoiding Lord Endymion. She stared over the shoulder of Serena, and saw a tall man walking in their direction. He had raven black hair and piercing blue eyes. She had heard enough about him to realize who he was._ Lord Endymion Rockwood _, she thought to herself. So he had decided to find Lady Serena in the village market. Now, what was she going to do?_

_“Lady Serena, I don’t mean to interrupt your thoughts, but Lord Endymion is coming this way.” This startled her and she didn’t dare turn around, but she didn’t know what to do. Should she leave or should she stay? Her slight hesitation caused him to gain momentum, so by the time she had made up her mind (to leave) he was standing right in front of her. She looked up and saw him grinning in victory._

_“Lady Serena,” he greeted. “I called on you earlier, and your doorman said that you were not at home. I prodded him for some information and he told me where I could find you. Did you forget about our outing this afternoon?”_

_Serena didn’t even bother to answer. The look in his eyes said it all. He knew that she was going to lie and if she even tried, he was going to call her on it. Well, wasn’t this going to be an interesting afternoon?_

* * *

I woke up with a start and groaned. I had felt so comfortable and man, the sleep had felt so good. Why did I have to wake up during that dream? Things were about to get interesting between Endymion and Lady Serena. I wanted to know what happened next between the two, especially because she had just realized…Fuck, what was I talking about? It was time that I faced up to the fact that Lady Serena Salvatore and I were one and the same. Endymion had even told me…. Wait, speaking of, where was he? I turned over and opened an eye. His side of the bed was empty, but unlike the other day, it actually looked like he had slept there. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed to see that he had already left. I was hoping after our little heart to heart, and crazy love making last night he would have stuck around for round four. But, he _was_ the Devil and I was sure he had other things to do. I wasn’t going to let my insecurities (he only banged my brains out because he thinks I’m Serena) get the best of me. What had happened last night, _God_ that had been amazing. I had never felt like that with anybody else before. I rolled over, so that I was on my back, loving the way my naked body felt in between the silk sheets and closed my eyes. It wouldn’t be too horrible if I took a quick nap, would it? It’s not like I had other options…

* * *

 _They hadn’t moved or said anything since his arrival. Serena didn’t know what to say. He knew that she had been purposefully trying to avoid him. He had already called her on it last night at the ball; she wasn’t going to let him call her on it again. It was bad enough that she couldn’t muster up the courage to delve deeper into her recent discovery, but to have Endymion standing right_ there _? It was infuriating. He actually came out to find her. Why had he done that? There were plenty of other girls out there who he could have, but he decided to choose her? Was it because she wasn’t interested in him and he wanted a good challenge? Or was it because he really_ did _want her as more than just a conquest?_

_“What exactly are you thinking about, Lady Serena?” He finally broke the silence. She looked up at him again. Gods, why did he have to be so abnormally tall? She couldn’t help but think._

_“Nothing that concerns you,” she lied and walked away from him. “Gabriella, let’s continue on our way.” It was a dismissal and a rude one at that. But, Serena hoped, that he got the message that she didn’t want his company._

_“Very well, Lady Serena,” Gabriella replied raising the umbrella again to shield the girl from the sun. Too many rays would not bode well with Serna since she had such a pale and fine complexion._

_“Wait, just one moment,” Endymion said, stepping into their path and blocking their way, again._

_“What do you want, Lord Endymion?” She asked, sounding frustrated and annoyed. Couldn’t he take the hint that she didn’t want to talk with him?_

_“Gabriella, would you mind giving Lady Serena and I a moment? I would like to talk to her.” Gabriella looked to Serena, questioning on whether or not she should leaved the two alone. Serena was rather curious as to what he could possibly want, and nodded her head. Her friend curtsied and walked further away from the couple. After she was far enough away, Endymion took one of Serena’s hands into hers. She was shocked to feel a pang of electricity flow through her when he touched her skin._

_“Lord Endymion, what do you want to talk to me about?” Her voice was level and calm even though she was having a breakdown on the inside._

_“Lady Serena, you’re avoiding me and I’m not just talking about the dance last night.” Damn it! She couldn’t help but curse in her head. This was_ exactly _the kind of accusation she was hoping to avoid. But he had and now she had no choice. She had to lie._

 _“I don’t know what you are talking about, Lord Endymion. Our outing must have slipped my mind. Now, if that is all you wished to discuss….” She turned to walk away, when he pulled her back to face him. But he also pulled her flush along his body. Her eyes widened at their close proximity to each other. Was he absolutely mad? They_ were _out in public after all, anyone could see what was happening. This wasn’t proper…but damn did it feel nice…_ Oh, shut up! _She screamed at herself. This was not right! What exactly was Endymion trying to do?_

_“Don’t insult my intelligence, Serena. I know when I’m being lied to. You’ve been avoiding me and I think I know why,” he looked into her eyes, as if staring into her soul. And whom did he think he was trying to kid by dropping the formalities? “You’re afraid because you know about my reputation. You don’t want to be hurt, but I have to stress this, Serena, I don’t want things to be that way with you. My intentions aren’t as ghastly as you believe. You’re different.” He let her go, putting space between them. His azure blue eyes were still staring at her. But for once in her life, she didn’t know what to say. He seemed almost sincere, helpless even. But how did she know that what he was saying held any truth?_

_“That’s all and good, Endymion, but how do I know what you’re saying is true? They’re only words and like you said, you_ do _have a reputation…”_

_“Let me prove it to you,” he replied. Now, he really was desperate, and Serena wanted to give him the chance. But she was going to have to have her guard up, just in case he was playing her for a fool._

_“Okay,” she answered. “But you better not mess this up.” The smile he gave her took her very breath away. Maybe what he was saying was the truth. Just maybe._

* * *

Somebody was watching me that was the reason I woke up this time around. Which was real unfortunate, because I was really enjoying that dream…okay _flashback._ It was still taking me awhile to get used to the fact that these dreams that I was having weren’t just dreams but memories from my former life. My eyes fluttered open and I searched the room to see who was watching me. Something that was really hard to do because I had gone from being flat on my back to being turned onto my left side. But I didn’t see anyone. Okay, this was weird, I could have sworn that someone was…

I almost squealed in surprise when I felt an arm snake around my waist, bringing me closer to a very warm body. The person placed a kiss on my shoulder blade, making me realize _whom_ he was. But just in case I didn’t know, he spoke,

“I see you haven’t moved since I left you,” that oh so familiar voice whispered into my ear. The action caused goose bumps to arise on my skin and a smile formed on my lips. See I had nothing to worry about….

“And why exactly would I have moved? I’m way too comfortable for such a thing.”

“Too comfortable? Even to repeat what happened last night?” He nuzzled into my shoulder blade. Okay, I know that I’ve spent a great amount of time bragging about how strong willed I am, but after everything that has happened, can you really blame me for saying that I literally _melted_ at that? Like I said before, what happened last night was amazing and I would have no problems repeating it.

“I guess you can persuade me,” I replied, my voice a whisper and my eyes automatically closing. The arm around my waist disappeared, but quickly pushed me onto my back. When I opened my eyes, he was staring into the familiar azure blue ones. He was staring down at me, a mischievous smirk on his face, and his hands ran along the side of my body. Trailing dangerously close to my breasts. The sensation was driving me absolutely mad and I felt myself heating up.

“Are you sure?” He asked, now unsure. “Because if you want, we can just talk or I could let you go back to sleep….” He trailed off, his fingers trailing down my stomach…

* * *

Last night…my mind groggily thought back. It flashed to the hallway and then the couch and finally it flashed to the bed where she had been on _top_ of me. Fuck, that was unbelievable and just when I thought things were going to be okay, she asked me about Serena. It threw me for a loop. I hadn’t thought that Serenity would ever find out about Serena. But I should have known better. Of course, she would be curious as to why I picked _her_ to be my mistress of hell, but I thought I would have had more time…

**_*Flashback*_ **

_“Well, they’re memories about you and a woman named Serena Salvatore,” she said. I didn’t know what to say. My grip on her waist tightened and I felt her squirm at the roughness. But at that moment I didn’t care. I hadn’t heard her name uttered from someone else’s lips (except for the masters and the mistresses) in so long. Then to hear it from Serenity, the woman who I had believed to be Serena’s reincarnation amazed me. I didn’t know how to react. I had just made love to this woman, damning the fact if she was Serena or not because I was in love with her._

_Yes, it was rather soon to be talking love, but she captivated me completely. And I’m not talking about Serenity’s close similarity to Serena’s appearance. I’m talking about_ Serenity’s _appearance, her personality, and the fact that she had kneed me in the groin made her even more alluring. It didn’t matter if she was Serena’s reincarnation or not. I loved her._

_But now that she knew about Serena and was apparently living through her memories, this made things complicated and strange. Was that the reason she had allowed me to take her in every obvious way? Because Serena was fueling her emotions?_

_“Endymion?” Her sweet angelic voice whispered from beside me._

_“What memories are you seeing?” I asked._

_“So far, just the night you two first met,” she replied. “She really didn’t like you, did she?”_

_I chuckled, “No. No, she didn’t.” I thought back to that night of the ball, but then I wondered. How exactly did Serenity know what Serena looked like and what she meant to me?_

_“I didn’t get what I was dreaming about at first, but then the other mistresses told me about her. You’re history with her and why you might have picked me as your mistress.” I glanced down at her in shock. How had she know what I was thinking, or had I voiced my questions out loud?_

_“They said might?” I asked trying to clarify things._

_“Might?”_

_“The reason I picked you as my mistress of hell. They said that it might have been because of Serena?”_

_“Oh, that, yeah, that’s what they said.” She didn’t say it with as much enthusiasm and I knew that something was wrong. She was wondering the same thing. Had I chosen her because of her resemblance to Serena or had I chosen her for her company? I, of course, knew the answer to this, but I didn’t know how she was going to take it. Like I said before, it was too soon._

_“How did the other mistresses find out about your dreams?” I asked, desperately trying to change the subject. I didn’t want her to dwell on this subject too long. Just in case she started to regret what she had just done with me. I didn’t want to be kneed in the groin again._

_“Oh, well, I sort of told them and they sort of_ caught _me looking at some stuff…” That got my attention._

_“Looking at some stuff? What are you talking about?”_

_“It was right after I told you about what had happened to me. I had taken a nap and had another dream. I didn’t know what it meant, so I went to go find the girls. But before I did, I went to change and I was searching for a pair of shoes when I stumbled across the chest.” I already knew what she was talking about. The chest that held all the letters Serena had sent to me over the nine-week period that I knew her and her portrait. I should have been angry that Serenity opened it, but I couldn’t be. Curiosity was a very interesting thing and if I were in her shoes, I would have done the same thing._

_“So you opened the chest and saw the letters and the portrait.”_

_“Yes, I couldn’t believe how similar we looked and I wondered who it was. When I flipped it over and saw her name, I knew that the dreams I was having and my similarity weren’t just a coincidence. That’s how the other mistresses found me and they told me the basics.”_

_“I see,” I replied. “And you’re wondering if that was the reason I picked you and have taken such an interest in you…” I let my fingers comb through her hair again, finding solace in the gesture. Hoping that Serenity would take this the right way._

_“Endymion?” My name on her lips sent shivers through me, just like it did way back when._

_“I thought that’s what it was, but now I’m not so sure.”_

**_*End of Flashback*_ **

After that we had fallen asleep not really speaking. It felt wonderful to hold her in my arms, but it made it that much harder to leave her the following morning. I did it though and it didn’t take me long to come back to her side. When I arrived back in our chamber, she was still sound asleep underneath my sheets. She looked so peaceful, so angelic, that I didn’t have the heart to waken her. I moved as quietly as I could to the bed, but she began to stir as if sensing my presence. I crawled in beside her, and waited for her to fully waken. When I saw her head move around, as if trying to find whom or what had disturbed her slumber, I snaked my arm across her waist and pulled her backwards.

Since she was up, we might as well continue our exploits from the night before…

* * *

“So did you have another memory?” Endymion asked me after we had gone for rounds four and five. I didn’t reply right away, because I was trying to catch my breath. Last night had been all about the lust factor, but today was different. He was gentler and more passionate. Maybe the idea that I had that he actually cared about _me_ and not Serena wasn’t too far fetched after all.

“Yes, actually I did,” I replied, looking up at him. “It was the day after the ball where she was avoiding you and this outing the two of you were supposed to have. I got all the way up to the part where you told her that she was different and that she should let you prove it to her.”

“Ah…” he said, closing his eyes. I was waiting for him to say more, but I was severely disappointed.

“So, was she different?” It was a stupid question to ask, but I wanted him (no, needed him) to tell me more about her.

“Obviously,” he scoffed. “I did almost marry her, Serenity.”

“But why did you decide to change for her? I mean, you did have the reputation of being a ladies man, and that’s why she was avoiding you. She thought that she had become your next victim. But…you were different.”

“Before that ball, I had seen Serena, interacted with her,” he explained. “She was unlike any other woman that I’d ever known back then. She was strong willed and didn’t care about appropriate protocol. She wasn’t just going to sit there and be quiet like ladies were supposed to back then. She spoke her mind and she spoke it often. I admired that in her. At that point, I knew that I wanted to get to know her, and that I wanted a proper relationship with her.”

“Wow,” I said, slightly taken aback by the passion in his words. He really did love Serena, and it must have sucked to have her taken away so cruelly. I couldn’t imagine living through something like that.

“Mm,” he muttered. He opened an eye to look at me, and he looked like he was struggling with something. I was about to ask him what it was, when he spoke. “I just realized that you never got a proper tour of your new home.” I looked at him in shock, that wasn’t what I had been expecting.

“Come on, go get dressed.” I very begrudgingly got out of bed and walked to the closet to pick out something to wear, I really didn’t care about the grand tour of hell. I mean it was _hell_ , what could there possibly be to see?           

* * *

Hell was huge. It had so many different caverns, and nooks and crannies that I was amazed that Endymion didn’t get lost himself. But he had been there over five hundred years, by now, he obviously knew his way around. We were walking through one of the many hallways, when I felt him take my hand in his. It was an intimate gesture, something only lovey dovey couples did, but I didn’t mind. It was a perfect moment.

One that was about to be ruined.

As we walked down that hall and he pointed to different things, a woman and a man appeared walking towards us. Endymion looked up, his brow furrowed. I had a feeling that those two weren’t supposed to be here. I took in the woman, who was rather tall, she looked to be at least five foot ten. She had crazy and wild red hair, and the purple gown that she wore was rather tight, it looked almost like her second skin. I couldn’t make out the man behind her, he was too incased in shadow, but I was very curious as to who these two were.

And why the hell she was looking at Endymion like she was about to eat him alive.

“Beryl, what are you doing down here?” Endymion asked.

“Lord Endymion,” she almost purred. “It should be I to ask you what you are doing down here. We usually don’t see you down in the circles…” she smiled at him, revealing two canines that almost looked like fangs. I shuddered away from the sight. Something about this woman just wasn’t right.

“I was giving a tour to my new mistress,” he replied. “Not that I need to explain myself to you, Beryl.”

“Of course, you don’t. But I hadn’t heard that you had a new mistress, I take it that this _lovely_ creature is she?” The whole statement dripped with sarcasm. Apparently she wasn’t too happy that Endymion had a mistress. What was the story between these two?

“Yes, this is Serenity,” he said introducing me. Whether or not he had heard the sarcasm and was choosing to ignore it was beyond me. “Serenity this is one of the circles enforcers, Beryl.”

“A pleasure to meet you, I’m sure,” she replied smiling at me. A smile that I knew was fake. But that was okay, because two could play at that game.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” I smiled back at her.

“Serenity?” A very familiar voice said from behind her. I looked up in alarm. It couldn’t be. There was no way that it could have been him. Endymion raised an eyebrow in question.

“You seem to have company yourself, Beryl. Who is your tag along?”

“Ah, well, I’ll just let him introduce himself…” she trailed off, that smile of hers growing wider. But this time it wasn’t fake. It was an insidious smile. What the fuck was going on here? My heart was pounding in my chest, waiting for the mystery man to step out of the shadows and reveal himself even though I already had a horrible feeling I knew who it was.

“Oh, it is you, my dear little whore.”


	11. Fists of Fury

To say that hell broke lose after Diamond made his presence known, would have been an understatement. A cliché, certainly, but an understatement nonetheless. But after Diamond had said his horrible greeting and it hit me that it was really him, that he was _really_ standing there in front of me, calling me his whore like he had in my nightmares, the shit hit the fan. Instead of standing there like a scared little bunny rabbit, I stalked forward, my hands balled into fists at my sides and a determined look on my face. When I reached him, I uncurled one of those fists and bitch slapped him.

 _Smack!_ The sound of my palm hitting the side of his face was gratifying for me, almost too gratifying. But after everything that pompous ass did to me? I deserved to slap him, hell I deserved to punch his lights out _and_ cut off his balls. Unfortunately for me though, I didn’t have a knife, or else I would have gone through with my plan of emasculation. Diamond was holding his cheek, hissing in pain, while Beryl watched all of this with an amused expression on her face, and Endymion was staring at me wordlessly. I should have filled him in on what was going on, but I wasn’t done speaking my peace with Diamond just yet.

“You have a lot of nerve calling me that, Diamond. _Especially_ after everything that happened,” I said my voice laced with malice. “You’re lucky that all I did was smack you.”

“Oh, and what else could you have possibly done to me, Serenity?” Diamond asked, a smirk on his face. “Unless you haven’t noticed yet, I’m in hell. Meaning, I’m _dead_. You got your wish, well technically.” I stared at him, wondering if my slap had knocked some brain cells loose. What in the world was he talking about? I got my wish? What wish? …Wait, a light bulb went off in my head. My last words to him, _one day you will die a worse death than this_ , was that what he was talking about? But what did he mean by, ‘technically?’

“What do you mean, _technically_ I got my wish?” My curiosity got the better of me. He looked up at me surprised that I had asked the question.

“Well, if you must know, a friend of yours killed me.”

“Friend of mine?” My nose crinkled as my confusion grew.

“Yes, a friend of yours. I believe his name was Andrew?” Comprehension dawned on my face and I looked up at him my mouth agape.

“No, you’re lying,” I whispered. “There was no way that Andrew killed you.”

“Oh, but he did, love,” Diamond replied, smirking again. “He came to my hotel room, because he was supposed to be interviewing for a job with my company. But apparently, he wasn’t there for a job with me. He was there to kill me. He put the gun to my temple and told me that I had killed his best friend. Next thing I know, I’m waking up down here.” My mouth popped open again in shock. There was no way, none at all, that Diamond was telling the truth about Andrew. My best friend wasn’t capable of shooting to kill, that’s why I had…I bit back tears as memories came back to me. Andrew and I were best friends and would do anything for each other, even if it meant killing another person. _Oh, Andrew…_ I trailed off in my head, noticing that while I had been thinking, Diamond had taken advantage (recovered quickly from my slap too) and moved closer to me. He had that predatory look in his eyes and I instantly began to squirm in discomfort at his closeness.

Endymion, as if sensing my unease, stepped in front of me protectively. “Just what exactly is going on here?” He asked, his voice calm, even though I could hear the growl in his throat. “Do you two know each other?”

“Unfortunately,” I muttered.

“Yes, we do. Serenity and I are very well _acquainted_.” The suggestive tone was there and my knee itched to be thrown into his groin. Where was a knife when you needed one? Maybe I should have gone through with my plan of emasculation…

“Is that so?” Endymion replied looking at me for confirmation. I was happy to give it, but not in the way Diamond was hoping for. Unfortunately for him, Endymion knew who he was and when I finally solved the mystery for him…. Well, I had no idea what was going to happen, but I couldn’t wait to find out.

“Sure,” I replied, my tone light, even though I was about to drop the biggest bomb ever. “If you call raping and murdering a form of acquaintance, then Diamond and I do know each other very well.” My smile turned into a deep frown and my eyes narrowed as I stared daggers at him.

My reaction was tame though compared to Endymion’s. The growl he had kept at bay before now escaped and I flinched away from him. Someone beside me whispered, “Now you’ve done it…” I looked and saw that Beryl woman was still there. She stared up at Endymion with complete fear and respect in her eyes. I turned and saw why.

The version of Endymion that I had come to know and love over the last few days was not standing before me. No, this was not a version of Endymion that I ever wished to see again. Standing before me was the most scarily beautiful man I had ever seen. But this man was a force that shouldn’t be messed with. Hell, I didn’t know if ‘man’ was the word to describe him because he wasn’t human, at least not anymore. A pair of the deepest black wings had sprouted on Endymion’s back, ripping the shirt he had worn to shreds. His hands now looked more like claws that could rip and cut to kill with one swipe. His deep azure blue eyes were now black and unlike before they weren’t black out of a romantic lust. They were black with the lust to kill. The most shocking feature though out of this transformation was the horns. Yes, that’s right, _horns_. There were two, one on either side of his head, and they were dangerously sharp and not as long as I was expecting.

Like I said before, Endymion _wasn’t_ human. No, he was something more animalistic, and now that he stood there, totally transformed, he looked more like the part of the Devil. _Holy shit…_

“Um, Serenity?” Diamond asked, taking his eyes off Endymion for a second. “Would you mind calling off your guard dog? I promise, I won’t touch you.” He forced a smile on his face, but I could tell that something wasn’t right. He actually looked afraid. _Good_ , I couldn’t help but think. After everything, Diamond deserved a little run around with my ‘guard dog’ as he put it. There was no way that I was calling Endymion off.

“You _dare_ speak to her?” Endymion’s voice, more deeper and more like a growl, shot out making Diamond look back up at him. “After everything you put her through, you’re lucky that I don’t incinerate you right here.” He snarled.

 _He deserves this, he deserves this_ I kept thinking in my head. But as I watched Diamond cower into himself, as Endymion loomed over him powerful and threatening, my conscious decided to speak up. _Is this really fair? Diamond_ is _already dead, has probably already been sentenced by the other masters for his crimes. He’s been punished, let this go._ It told me, but I wanted to ignore it. Seriously, considering everything, didn’t he deserve this? If it _hadn’t_ been for Endymion stepping in, who was to say that Diamond wouldn’t have done what he had done before, again? No. Diamond deserved whatever Endymion had planned for him.

“Endymion,” Beryl’s voice rang out at my side. He turned to look at her, those dark bottomless eyes baring into her. “Is this really necessary? Diamond has already been punished for his crimes by the masters, he is to spend an eternity in my circle, and you know how unforgiving I can be.” She grinned wickedly at that and I shivered. I still was trying to figure out who she was, and what exactly her relationship with Endymion had been before I came along.

“Serenity,” Endymion turned his gaze on me, only it was more of _his_ gaze. The blackness in his eyes was disappearing, becoming the azure blue that I knew. “Is this acceptable punishment for you?” Beryl and Diamond turned their attention to me as well.

Oh, hell… I turned to Beryl. “Unforgiving?”

She nodded, “Yes, unforgiving.”

“Make sure he stays in your circle. I swear, if I run into him anywhere else…” my attention returned to Endymion who nodded in understanding.

“Then he is mine,” he snarled making Diamond cower back into the wall. Endymion grinned in victory and then in a flash of flame was returned to normal. He gathered my hand into his own and took one last glance at Beryl and Diamond before we disappeared in a wall of flame.

* * *

 

When the flames disappeared, Diamond stared open mouthed at Beryl. Fury crawled into his veins. “Well, that wasn’t part of the plan,” he spat. She only looked at him amused. “What is so fucking funny about this? I almost shit my pants when he became that monster! What was that?”

“That was the Devil,” she replied, still smiling. “And even though it wasn’t part of the plan for you to see that side of him, it still worked in our favor.”

“How?” He asked, curious what this woman was planning.

“You shall see, Diamond, you shall see.”

* * *

 

When we reappeared in our room, Endymion didn’t let me go. He held me protectively and maybe even lovingly. I hadn’t realized that I was shaking until he started rubbing his hands on my upper arms and started whispering soothing words to me. He thought I was afraid of him. I wanted to laugh at that, but I just couldn’t get it out of my throat. It stuck and soon when I tried to breathe it sounded like I was sobbing. Oh, wonderful, just freaking fantastic. He led me to the bed and laid me down. I looked up at him and that same look that I had seen on him on that first night I was here was back. He looked broken and so very, very lost.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me. I swear to you, Serenity, I would never hurt you.”

“I’m not afraid of what you are, Endymion,” I whispered and his eyes flashed to mine. “It’s just a shock to see Diamond here. After everything that he put me through, I thought I wouldn’t have to see him for at least a few decades. But to find out that Andrew killed him…” my voice broke and tears pooled in my eyes. Ah, crap, not this again. I bit my lip to keep the tears at bay, but a few escaped. He leaned forward and very carefully wiped the tears away.

“I promise you, Diamond will get what’s coming to him. Beryl wasn’t lying when she said that she’s unforgiving,” he lightly chuckled. “Unless you willingly wander into that circle, which I don’t advise you do, you shouldn’t have to worry about seeing him again. Of course, if you do, just call me to your side and he will no longer be a problem.” It was meant to reassure me, I knew that, but for some unknown reason, a chill went down my spine. So much for not being afraid of him.

“Are you going to be okay?” He asked me, probably noticing the goose bumps on my skin.

“Eventually,” I replied, honestly. “Why?”

“I need to speak with the masters about a few things, so I might have to leave you alone. Will you be okay, or should I send the mistresses in to keep you company?”

“No, I’ll be fine on my own, you go on and do what you need to do.”

He stood up and looked back at me, “If you’re sure…”

“Positive,” I tried to smile, but it probably came out as more of a grimace. It didn’t matter though, because Endymion nodded and in a wall of flame disappeared. I would probably never get used to that. I mean would it really have killed him to walk out of the room? But no, he had to flame up like he was some stupid phoenix or something…

 _Ugh. So_ not _the point_ , I thought to myself, not really believing that I had just gone on a rant about his disappearing ability. There was so many other things that I should be ranting about. Like the fact that Diamond was here, in hell, with me. That Beryl woman, who I still needed to figure out. What was her connection with Endymion? _Other_ than him being her boss? Hm…I should probably ask him about it when he got back.

And then there was the big one. Andrew was the reason that Diamond was here. He had killed him out of revenge for me. _Oh, Andrew,_ I thought again. This wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t want him involved in this life, that was why I never told him about what I did other than my secretary job at the doctor’s office. Of course, he had known that something was up when my mother’s hospital bills mysteriously got paid and I didn’t lose my apartment.

But I still refused to tell him the truth. Instead I told him that I had a mysterious benefactor (not really too far from the truth) that was paying my mom’s hospital bills. He hadn’t believed me, it was obvious, but he didn’t badger me anymore for details.

 _Andrew, how the hell did you get involved in this?_ I couldn’t help but think as I felt my eyes close.

* * *

 

It wasn’t ever part of my plan for Serenity to see that side of me, but after learning that the man who had murdered and _defiled_ her was now in my domain and had been so close to touching her… Well, my control over my temper was always a tad bit, loose. I knew that the ‘True Devil’ was frightening, I _was_ the Devil after all, but I never wanted her to see it. Because the moment she did, I was afraid that she was going to realize the true _monster_ that I was and want nothing to do with me. But as usual, Serenity, like Serena, took me completely by surprise. She wasn’t afraid of that side of me, just the fact that Diamond was here, something I couldn’t blame her for.

“Rubeus,” I called out when I arrived outside the sentencing room. A man with flame red hair appeared by my side.

He bowed, “Sire, you called for me?”

“Yes, I have a job for you that is of the most importance. Go to my room and stand guard outside. Lady Serenity is inside and can leave but make sure you follow her if she does. The masters and mistresses can visit her, but Beryl and a man named Diamond cannot. If these two try, alert me immediately.”

“Of course, sire,” Rubeus bowed again before leaving for my room. I watched him go, knowing that he would do a good job. Rubeus was one of the few people that I trusted. I turned and entered the sentencing room, much to everyone’s surprise. And I do mean _everyone’s_ surprise. I tried to keep the laugh within me at bay as Nephrite, Jadeite, Zoicite, and Kunzite readjusted their clothes and Amy, Lita, Raye, and Mina backed away from their thrones, their faces flushed and dresses rumpled.

“Nice to know that while I’m away the mice will play,” I commented as soon as everyone became presentable.

“We weren’t expecting you,” Kunzite replied his voice deeper. “What are you doing here? We thought you would be…detained with Lady Serenity.”

“I was,” I shrugged. “But some new information has come to my attention and I need to discuss things with you.” With a wave of my hand, the thrones disappeared and nine chairs took their place. I ushered to the seats and we all sat down.

“So, what’s this new information?” Jadeite asked, getting straight to the point.

“Remember during Serenity’s sentencing, when she told us what happened?”

“Yes, she didn’t kill herself, she was murdered,” Nephrite replied.

“Right, well, there’s more to the story than she originally told us. She told me a few days ago and it’s not exactly pretty.” I heard a gasp and everyone turned their head towards Mina, whose eyes had grown wide (did that girl have the same expression for everything?).

“Mina?” Kunzite asked concerned.

“I’m alright, it’s just shocking is all. I didn’t think that she would tell you about what had happened to her… she just seemed too strong to have it effect her.”

“She puts up that front, but I don’t think she’s as strong as she appears. Serenity had a nightmare about what happened to her and I was there when she woke up. I asked her about it and she told me.”

“Okay, now I’m curious. What the hell happened to Serenity that is so bad?” Raye asked and the other two girls nodded in agreement.

“You know already that Serenity was a hired assassin before she died. The night she was killed, she was on assignment to kill a man named Diamond Chambers. Unfortunately for Serenity, he wasn’t like her usual kills. Bodyguards always protected him, so the only way she could get to him was by enchanting him into bed. She flirted with him that night and had gotten him where she wanted him when he got the jump on her. He somehow knew whom she was and what she was trying to do. He handcuffed her to the bed and was going to kill her, but he decided to have his way with her instead.” Raye, Lita, and Amy gasped in shock while Kunzite, Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoicite grimaced.

“Afterwards,” I continued. “He killed her by slicing her wrists to make it look like a suicide.”

“And we know the rest,” Kunzite said.

“Diamond Chambers,” Nephrite whispered. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

“Holy shit…” Lita exclaimed and looked at me with wide eyes. “He was down here a few days ago. We sentenced him to an eternity in Beryl’s circle.”

“I know,” I nodded my head. “Serenity and I took a tour of hell today and ran into Beryl and Diamond at the end of it. That meeting didn’t really…uh…end well.”

“I somehow don’t blame you,” Jadeite chuckled. “If that had been Raye, I would have let that guy have it.”

“I didn’t,” I admitted, everyone’s eyes locked onto me. “When I found out who he was, I lost control of my temper and went a little crazy.”

“The guy had it coming,” Zoicite replied.

“Zoicite! Don’t be so naïve! Even if Diamond deserved it, which he does, Endymion shouldn’t have lost his temper. The transformation must have scared Serenity,” Amy looked at me.

“Not really,” I whispered.

“ _What?_ ” They all exclaimed.

“It shocked her, at first, but she told me that it doesn’t scare her.”

“Well, then,” Lita commented. “Maybe that’s why she’s meant for you, Endymion. She accepts you for who you are. That’s what love is all about, you know.”

I didn’t really say anything in response to that. It was a problem that I was dealing with since she came into hell. Was I really in love with Serenity? Or was I only in love with her because of Serena? My mind kept debating with me about it and I was very confused by it all. I first picked her as my mistress because of how similar she was to Serena, but as I’ve gotten to know her, I wanted to protect her. Like today, with Diamond, I wanted to incinerate him right there on the spot because of what he did to Serenity. Anything to help her, to keep her safe, speaking of keeping her safe…

“You haven’t, by chance, had a guy named Andrew show up in the sentencing room?” I asked, remembering that Serenity’s best friend had killed Diamond and she was so distraught over that idea.

“Uh, no,” Lita said, consulting her list.

“Well, I’ll keep an eye on him on the death scrolls,” I nodded my head. “I should go, get back to Serenity.” I rose from my seat and made my way out of the room.

* * *

 

_Awkward silences seemed to be the norm for Lady Serena and Lord Endymion as the third (or was it fourth?) fell over them as they walked through the market square. Endymion had just declared that Serena was different from the other girls he had ‘been with’ and he wanted the chance to prove it to her. So, they were taking their planned walk that afternoon. But they didn’t know what to say to the other._

_“Who was that woman I saw you talking to last night?” Endymion asked, breaking the silence. Serena couldn’t help but think that he was always the one to break these silences._

_“Which woman?” Serena countered. It was usually rude to answer a question with a question, but in this circumstance it wasn’t. She talked with a lot of women at last night’s ball._

_“The one with the red hair,” he clarified._

_“Oh, that was my friend Molly.”_

_“You seemed to know her really well,” he commented._

_“We’ve been friends since we were children.”_

_“Ah, hence why she helped you avoid me all night.” His tone was accusing but at the same time light with humor._

_“Out of curiosity, Endymion, how do you know for certain that I was avoiding you?” Serena asked, not faking curiosity. She really wanted to know what gave her away. She was usually crafty when she was doing something dubious, enough that other people didn’t expect her of any wrongdoing. But he had. How had he known?_

_“It was very obvious in your body language. When you walked into the ballroom at the beginning of the night, your eyes swept the room and when they landed on me, you grimaced in disgust.”_

_“Well, that was because you were staring at me like I was something to eat,” she defended herself. She didn’t know why, but she felt like she needed to defend her actions._

_He only chuckled at her response, “Trust me, Serena, I was not the only man in that room looking at you that way. Then there were the people you were gossiping with. Lady Iraheta? I know that you can’t stand her, none of the other ladies do.”_

_“Hmph. I’ll give you that one.”_

_“Allow me one more. When your friend Lady Molly arrived and found you, you sent very disproving looks my way and avoided me the rest of the night.”_

_“The ‘very disproving looks’ as you called them was because you kept staring and watching me. It was very annoying. And I can’t help it if Molly and I haven’t seen each other over the last three months. We had a lot to discuss.”_

_“I’m sure,” Endymion grinned, knowingly. “But it doesn’t matter now, because you have decided to give me a chance.”_

_“I’m really staring to rethink that.”_

_“I wish you wouldn’t,” he whispered looking at her with an expression she didn’t recognize in his eyes. Whatever the expression was, it got to her and she just shook her head. Did he realize what he was doing to her? That he was charming her to accept his advances?_

_“I’ll stand by my word, Endymion, but you only get the one chance. Make it count.” It was harsher than what she intended, but he seemed to take the threat seriously._

_“Don’t fret, Lady Serena,” he replied. “I plan to make it count.”_

* * *

 

The room was silent as the prisoner was brought in. The only sound that could be heard was the footsteps and the rustling of his handcuff chains. Today was going to be a bleak day for those within the room, but not as bleak as the prisoner’s. Today was his execution day. He had been found guilty of murder and was sentenced to the death penalty. His last meal had been served, his last rights administered, now all that he had to do was sit in the chair and wait for the lethal injection to take his last breath.

           


	12. There's a Wicked Spell

_Weeks had passed since the first meeting between Serena and Endymion, and things had become quite interesting. Serena found herself trusting Endymion more and more and, she hated to admit it, she was slowly falling for him. She didn’t know why, but it might have been because he wasn’t acting like the rumor mills had said. He was kind, polite and dare she even say funny. He let her speak her mind, believing that women needed to be heard, especially her._

_“Your opinions are refreshing,” he told her a few days ago when they were on a picnic. “How did you get to be so wise?”_

_“My father believes all women should be well educated. He brings back many books from his travels and I read them all.”_

_Serena smiled at the memory. Somehow, Lord Endymion Rockwood had wormed his way into her heart._

_“Am I crazy, Gabriella for falling for a man like Endymion?” She asked her maid who was brushing her hair. For the third straight day she and Endymion had plans._

_“Do you believe so, Lady Serena?”_

_“I am not sure. A part of me believes in this change of character, but at the same time, can a leopard really change his spots?”_

_“I believe he can, my lady. You don’t see the way he looks at you.”_

_“The way he looks at me?” Serena looked up at her maid questioningly. “How does he look at me, Gabriella?”_

_“Well, to put it bluntly, Lady Serena, he looks at you like you are the only thing in this world that matters. Like he is hanging on your very words, waiting for you to tell him what to do.”_

_Serena frowned. How was this possible? In the years that she had known Endymion he was always a spoiled, selfish brat. He was knowledgeable and knew very well the position he was to play when he grew up. And grew up he had. Striking all the females, except for Serena, crazy for his attention. Attention he basked in and took pleasure in. Maybe he had matured again?_

_“Serena,” her father knocked on her bedroom door._

_“Come in,” she replied and stood to greet him. Her father walked into the room and enveloped his daughter into a hug._

_“I don’t know what you have done, my daughter, but Lord Endymion is here to see you again.” With these simple words, Serena felt her heart beat faster. Oh, it was no use to deny it anymore. She was falling for Endymion._

_She smiled at her father, “Are you implying that I have bewitched him, father?"_

_“Of course not. Any man would be a fool not to fall for you. Now, come, it is best if we don’t keep him waiting, hm?” He offered her his arm and they left the room with Gabriella following behind. When they reached the staircase, Serena could clearly make out that familiar raven black hair. She tried to hide her smile, but failed miserably. At their entrance, Endymion lifted his head and watched Serena gracefully walk down the stairs, seeing her smile he couldn’t help but have one of his own._

_“Here she is, Lord Endymion,” her father said stopping in front of them._

_“Thank you, Lord Salvatore,” he turned his attention to her. He bowed and kissed the knuckles of her right hand. “Lady Serena.”_

_“Lord Endymion,” she curtsied._

_“Have fun you two,” her father said, a smile on his face before he walked out of the room. As soon as he was gone, Endymion couldn’t help but fully take in Serena’s beauty. Her golden hair was in a braid with a few loose wisps surrounding her beautiful face and she wore a simple pink dress._

_“You look beautiful, as always, Serena,” he said dropping the formal title._

_“Why, thank you, Endymion,” she replied. He offered her his arm and they walked out of her home._

* * *

I woke up with a sigh of discontent on my lips. I didn’t want to awaken from that last memory. Something big was going to happen that day, I could just feel it, and I wanted to know what. I tried to resume my sleep to find out, when I felt someone watching me. Considering the day’s events, my mind instantly thought of the worst scenario. Diamond had somehow gotten past Beryl and was now standing here…

I sat up and literally breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Diamond. It was Endymion.

“You scared me,” I breathed and settled amongst the pillows.

“Sorry,” he replied coming forward. “You just looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to disturb your slumber. Did you dream anything interesting?”

“Another memory.”

“What was this one about?” He sat down, so he was looking directly at me, making me, surprisingly feel uncomfortable. But not in a bad way. More because I remembered the last time we were in this bed, and the things we had done…Gah. What the hell did I have to be embarrassed about? What we had done was entirely natural and I _really_ wanted to do it again.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right, the recent memory.

“I’m not quite sure,” I replied. “We were at my house, then left and that was when I woke up.” Endymion was quiet and then he smiled. Really, the _Devil smiled_ , and it wasn’t a fearful one either. Something about the memory was fond for him. I just wished I knew what.

“You’re going to like the rest of that memory, Serenity,” he whispered and leaned down so I felt his hot breath against my face. “But, if you don’t mind, I’d rather you _didn’t_ go back to sleep just yet.”

“Really? And why is that?”

“Because,” he drawled, his voice husky. “I keep forgetting what it does to me, to see you in _my_ bed.” His eyes had turned black and unlike before when it was out of supreme anger, this time it was because of lust. I chuckled softly and waited for his lips to touch mine. As if fueled by my chuckle, they crashed upon me and took my very breath away. Something was different about this kiss than the ones we had previously shared. It was softer, but at the same time more demanding. I lost myself quicker and knew that I shouldn’t be bothered with the kiss.

And as Endymion pressed himself into me, I realized that there was more pressing matters at hand then the meaning of a silly kiss. He ripped the comforter away from my body and placed his hands on either side of my torso. Instantly my body began to heat at his touch. His tongue delved into my mouth and teased mine. I almost groaned in response. He was such a tease.

My fingers found the buttons of his shirt and began to undo them. At the action, Endymion drew away from me. I started to feel insecure. Did he not like it when a woman took charge? But I thought back to our previous session where I had been on top. He didn’t seem to mind it then. What was going on now? A cool breeze swept over me and I noticed that I was naked. Wait, how? I knew for a fact that I had a dress on before I went to take my quick nap. What had just happened? I looked up at him in question and noticed that he was also bare. He smirked.

“Sorry,” he said. “I just find the removal of clothing time consuming. Besides, I’m sure if I actually took the time you would have lost another dress.” He came back down and this time began to trail kisses along my naked flesh, stopping to pay homage to my breasts. He teased each nipple until they were hard and then he began to suck on each of them. I moaned at the action, which caused him to smile as he trailed more kisses down my torso.

A hand reached and he began to tease my nether region. “My sweet, Serenity,” he muttered into my skin. “Already wet and ready.” As if asserting his statement he slipped a finger into my channel. My hips arched up at the intrusion. I groaned, which he broke off with a deep kiss. When I broke away, I glanced up at him thinking of how unfair it was for him to be pleasing me so thoroughly and he was not being pleasured.

It was time to change that. A confused look passed on his face as he noticed something on my own. Since I knew myself pretty well, I was pretty sure it was because a wicked gleam had entered my eyes. But what he didn’t know was how _wicked_ things were going to become. My hand reached down and gently touched him, and he jumped back at the touch.

“Serenity,” he growled. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Seems a little bit unfair, don’t you think? That you’re pleasuring me, but aren’t receiving any pleasure yourself?” I asked my voice sultry, as I stroked upwards. He hissed in a response and I continued my motions. Just before he was close to coming into my hand, he reached down and yanked my hand away and kept it above my head. In the same movement, his member slammed into my channel and we both moaned in pleasure.

The pace after the initial entrance was fast paced. It hurt in the best way, and my body arched as he entered me each time. His thumb reached down and touched my clit at the same time and I almost felt my eyes roll into the back of my head at the sheer intensity of feelings running through my veins. I was close to release, I could feel it, and Endymion must have known because he drove in one last time. I clenched around him, milking him before he released his seed inside of me.

“Serena!” He exclaimed as he came, and collapsed on top of me in exhaustion. He rolled over, to ease his weight off of me and pulled me into his side. His lips were at the crook of my neck and he left one last kiss before he fell into a deep sleep. But I was too preoccupied from what had happened at the end of our love making session to fall asleep. He had called me Serena. And yes, I had told the other masters and mistresses to call me Serena a few days ago. But did he know that? Or was he calling me the name of his long last love?

I finally succumbed to the exhaustion, but not without a tad bit of confusion.  

* * *

A lone figure sneaked out of the Devil’s bedroom and rooms as soon as the ‘sweet’ couple had fallen asleep in each other’s arms. The guard that had been standing guard before had been dismissed by the Devil, so the figure was able to sneak in without any problems. Now, later, he was able to sneak away with just as much ease. Before he ran into a busty red head.

“Ah, Diamond,” Beryl said in greeting. “I was wondering where you got to.”

“I was in the Devil’s room,” he replied.

“And did you see anything of interest?”

“Not quite. More like something…revolting.”

“I see,” Beryl said a hint of disgust in her voice. “So, they’ve had another session of _that_ , have they? I don’t understand what that man sees in her.”

“I don’t understand what she sees in him,” Diamond countered. “Especially when he goes around calling her Serena.”

“What did you just say?” Beryl asked whipping her head around to look at him.

“I don’t understand what Serenity sees in him?”

“No, after that!”

“Especially when he goes around calling her Serena,” he supplied.

“Are you a hundred percent certain that that’s what he said?”

“Yes, why is it so important?”

“Because, a sliver of doubt has just been put into Serenity’s head of Endymion’s feelings for _her_. This helps with our plan,” she began to grin wickedly. “ _Immensely.”_            

* * *

The masters and the mistresses of hell (except for the Devil and his mistress) were sitting in the sentencing room talking amongst themselves about what the Devil had said to them earlier. They were wondering what to do with Serenity’s friend Andrew if and when he was sent to hell. All the mistresses’ positions were full and they knew that Serenity would not stand for her best friend to be sentenced to work in one of the circles. Endymion, knowing how much Andrew meant to her, wouldn’t allow it either. _Especially_ because of what Andrew had done for Serenity.

“Maybe he could be Endymion’s assistant?” Amy suggested to the group.

“It’s an option,” Zoicite agreed. “It’s just a matter of whether or not he will agree to it.” The rest of the group muttered agreement to the idea, before Raye gasped in shock. Jadeite reached over and held her hand concern washing over his face. Mina watched curious and looked to the rest of the group to figure out what was going on.

“Raye was a priestess before she came here,” Lita explained. “Sometimes she gets visions.”

“What’s wrong, Raye? What did you see?” Jadeite asked, his voice low and soothing.

“It isn’t clear,” she replied her voice shaky. “But something is coming. I’m not sure what, but it will drive Serenity away from Endymion and he won’t be able to get her back again.”

* * *

 

_“Endymion, could you at least tell me where we’re going?” Serena asked, her voice almost a childish whine. He couldn’t help but grin at the voice. He had never told her where they were going that afternoon and what they were doing, so she was growing restless. He couldn’t blame her. But he didn’t want to tell her just yet where they were heading. It was a secret location and only he knew of it._

_“Do you trust me, Serena?” He asked her, the childish grin on his face._

_She giggled a little at the question, “I suppose.” He raised his eyebrows in response to her reply. Since when had they turned that page in their relationship where they were playful with the other? Not that he minded the change; it made him feel that what he was going to do now was timed perfectly._

_“You suppose?” He responded and mocked being hurt by putting his hand to his chest. “I’m hurt. I thought after the last few weeks you have come to trust me more than when we first met.”_

_This time he got a full on laugh. “Endymion, stop it!” Her hand brushed his arm; an electrical shock went through both of them, sobering both. They were staring into each other’s eyes, not sure what to say to the other. Endymion desperately wanted to kiss her, and she desperately wanted to be kissed. But they were out in public. No one really knew of the budding relationship between the two, but they both knew they could only keep it under wraps for so long. Moving closer to her, he leaned down and brushed his lips quickly against hers._

_It was their first kiss. It was sweet and innocent, and everything that they both wanted from it. Some people in the town’s square stared for a second before continuing on with their day, as the couple broke apart looking deeply into the other’s eyes._

_But there was one person who stopped to watch them, and after a few seconds followed them to wherever they were going. Not that the couple took notice of this, their heads were too far up in the clouds._

_Serena and Endymion continued on their way, both enveloped in their own thoughts. They had a lot to think about with the kiss and their ‘unofficial’ announcement of their courtship to the town. He was thinking about how soft her lips were, while she was thinking of how much she wanted to kiss him again. Serena was also thinking about how much things had changed since they had first met several weeks ago. She hadn’t trusted him one bit back then, she thought she was just another conquest. But now, when he had asked her if she did indeed trust him, she was shocked to learn from herself that she did._

_Endymion drew himself out of his thoughts when he noticed where they had ended up while they were walking. They were here, and it was time to take this courtship one step further. He sighed and looked at Serena._

_His sigh brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up at him startled before looking around them. She was flabbergasted at what she saw. It looked to be a secluded garden, which was odd since Serena thought she knew about every nook and cranny in this town._ You learn something new everyday _, she couldn’t help but muse as she continued to walk around._

_“This place is beautiful,” she said breaking the silence between them for the first time since the kiss. “What is it?”_

_“It’s my mother’s old gardens,” he replied, trying to not let his eyes wander too much. She looked so beautiful standing there in the gardens his mother used to work on when she was alive._ Even more beautiful then the flowers, _he couldn’t help but think._

_She nodded her head, “So why did you bring me here, Endymion?”_

_He loved the way that she said his name. He loved a lot of things about Lady Serena Salvatore, and on top of that was the reason that he had brought her to his mother’s gardens. He was about to do something for the first time, and it scared him to think that she could deny him. He had never been denied before. Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. Serena had denied him once, during the night of the ball, but she didn’t know that she had. This time, she would know if she denied him…_

_“Endymion?” Her angelic voice asked him again._

_“I’ve brought you here today, because I have something that I need to tell you,” he replied, finding his voice and courage. He wasn’t looking at her, so he didn’t see her freeze. Was this the moment where he tore Serena’s trust to pieces? Where he told her that she was right about him from the start? Serena continued to watch him as he walked around the gardens. Looking everywhere, but at her._

_“I know this may seem rather sudden, especially since we’ve only just met, but I can’t deny what I’ve known for awhile now. I think it’s time to tell you and to hear what you have to say…” he trailed off as he picked off a red rose. Turning back to her, he handed her the flower before he said what he needed to. “Serena Salvatore, I’m in love with you.”_

_The only reaction she had was to blink. She just didn’t hear the biggest playboy of society, admit to being in love with her. It wasn’t possible, but at the same time, couldn’t it be? He had admitted to wanting to be different because of her, and she had given him that chance. He had yet to disappoint her. Besides, hadn’t she just realized that morning that she was falling for him as well?_

_“A reaction to all of this would be nice,” he whispered, bringing her back to the situation at hand._

_“I’m sorry,” she began to say, and watched as his face fell. “But I’m going to need a little bit more than one minute to reply to something I’ve only just begun to realize myself before I left my home this morning.” She said what she felt. Did it make any sense? Probably not, but she didn’t care. There were no lies in what she had said. And if he needed her to, she could explain what she meant. But as she looked at him, she realized that no explanation would be needed. He understood what she meant, as crazy as it all sounded._

_He walked forward and captured her lips in another kiss. Pouring all his feelings into it. Serena let herself be taken away by the kiss, feeling that in this moment it was needed. But neither of them realized that another was witnessing the whole exchange. A busty red head watched the scene before her with rage billowing in her eyes._

* * *

 

I opened my eyes and didn’t feel confused like I had before I had gone to sleep. This time I felt anger. I was pissed off, and it was all because of that stupid memory that I had just relived. _You’re going to like that memory_ , I remembered Endymion saying to me before we had sex. Oh, was he ever wrong. I did _not_ like that memory one bit, because even though I got to see Serena and Endymion declare their love for each other, I also saw Beryl in the memory as well. Why hadn’t Endymion mentioned that Beryl was alive during our time?

I turned around to give the man a piece of my mind, when I realized that he was gone. _Again_. What was with this guy? For once I would love for him to be there when I woke up. Especially right now when I was pissed off and had a _lot_ of questions for him to answer about our past life. I got out of bed and stalked to the closet to find a new dress to wear, and prayed that he would be back when I returned.

I was slipping on a dark blue dress over my head when I heard his footsteps stop at the door. I tried not to blast him right away, but it was hard to keep my anger at bay. He stepped behind me and did the zipper.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be out of bed just yet,” he whispered into my ear. “Did you sleep well?”

“Not really,” I answered, my voice short and sounding somewhat annoyed, which I was, but he didn’t know that. Not yet.

“Serenity, are you okay?” He asked me as I turned around and he finally was able to look at my face. He searched it thoroughly, but I tried not to have anything slip past it.

“We need to talk,” I replied and walked past him back into the bedroom where I sat on the bed. He followed me a look of concern on his face now. He knew that whatever I had to say couldn’t be good, and in some way he was right. “I need to know what your history was with Beryl before I came to hell.”

Endymion sighed, “I knew you were going to ask about this eventually, but you need to understand that you weren’t here and I never thought I would ever see Serena’s reincarnated form. So over three hundred years ago, Beryl was sent to hell and I noticed that things were different with her than with the others I had sentenced even different than the masters and mistresses. So I gave her the job of being in charge of one of the circles. But she was interested in me and I was lonely…”

I didn’t have an expression on my face because when Beryl and I had met for the first time I had a feeling that that was the relationship the two of them had had. It was just the way that she acted around him, and I wasn’t angry that that was the relationship that they had had before I came down here. How could I be? Considering he had been the Devil for five hundred years…well, five hundred years was a really long time. Besides I hadn’t even known about his existence back then.

No harm, no foul. It was just a matter of if he remembered her from _before_ he had become the Devil.

“That’s the whole history?” I asked him, my tone even.

“It wasn’t a long relationship,” he added. “It didn’t even last a day. There was something off with her, and I didn’t want anything to do with that, so I ended things. But she is who she is.”

“That’s actually not what I’m talking about.”

“Then would you like to clarify, Serenity, because you’re not making a whole lot of sense to me. Does this have anything to do with the memory?”

“Yes, it does, but it also has to deal with Beryl,” I sighed as the confusion on his face grew. He probably didn’t realize that Beryl had been there that day when he had confessed his love for Serena, but now that I had, I had a lot of questions. “I saw the rest of the memory from earlier, and imagine my surprise when Beryl appeared in the background of the dream.”

“Beryl?” He repeated. “But how can that be? She wasn’t even alive during our time.”

“But I saw her!” I exclaimed. “She was watching the both of us with a look of disdain on her face.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Beryl wasn’t alive during our time. I would have remembered her if she had been. Are you sure you just didn’t have an overlap because of today’s events?”

“I know my mind, Endymion,” I replied, my voice cold. How dare he doubt me? “That was _not_ an overlap. It was part of the memory. Beryl was there.”

He stood up as if to leave, and I knew exactly where he would run. The anger that I had been trying to keep at bay, finally flooded over.

“You better not being going to talk to her,” I seethed.

“Who else would I talk to, Serenity?” He replied his voice calm. “If she was truly alive back then, then we need to know, and she is the only one who can answer that question.”

“And what’s to stop her from lying?” I retorted. “Don’t you think if she was alive during our time, she would have said something to you by now?”

“Serenity, you need to calm down.”

“No, I am done with all this past life nonsense!” I exclaimed standing up too. “It’s one thing to find out that there is such a place as Hell, but a whole other thing to find out that I’m the Devil’s past love reincarnated. I don’t believe it!”

“But you’re seeing her memories. You are her.” He tried to grab my shoulders but I backed out of his grip. My eyes slanted into slits as I glared at him.

“I know what you’re feelings are about this, Endymion. Since that is the only reason you chose me as your ‘mistress.’ But I am not Serena.” I turned to walk away when a few words stopped me.

“But I love _you_ , Serenity.”

I turned back around, the scene almost reminiscent of the memory I had just relived. But this time I wasn’t falling for his games. I was done.

“Really? Because if you truly loved me, Endymion, you wouldn’t have screamed out _Serena’s_ name at the end of our love making session earlier.” And with that I turned on my heel and walked out of the Devil’s room.

…And right into another person.


	13. The Day of the Dead

And ran right into someone, someone I had never met yet before in hell. I started spurting off apologies just as the man I had run into did the same. We stopped and smiled at the other realizing our mistake.

“I’m sorry for running into you. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going,” I offered first, not bothering to mention _why_ I wasn’t paying attention when I left.

“It’s not a problem. I apologize too, my lady. I wasn’t watching where I was going either,” the man said and I finally took in his appearance. He was tall and had flaming red hair. His amber eyes were sharp and he had pale skin. His chest was heaving as if he had been running.

“May I ask your name, sir?”

“I am Rubeus,” he introduced himself, as he bowed. “And may I ask your name, my lady?”

“I am Serenity,” I smiled at him. “It’s nice to meet you, Rubeus.” As he came up from his bow, he looked at me with alarmed eyes.

“You are Serenity? The Devil’s…” he trailed off as if to be respectful of the position I held. But I was pretty sure it was because of how close we were to the Devil’s rooms. He could come out at any moment, but he didn’t know what I had just done. Endymion was too frozen in shock from our argument to chase me.

“Mistress,” I supplied for him. “And yes, that would be me. Even though, I’m not sure if that title applies anymore.” I had made my feelings pretty clear to Endymion. I didn’t want to believe in this reincarnation business. I wanted the Devil to love me for me. Not because of a stupid past life self that he believed me to be. But as long as I felt that way, I wanted nothing to do with him. Which didn’t leave me a lot of options, since I was pretty much stuck in hell. I had heard of being in your own personal hell, but this was just ridiculous.

“Were you the one yelling?” Rubeus asked.

“Yelling?” I asked confused. Had the argument really been that loud outside the room? I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. I wonder how many other people had heard our ‘conversation.’

“Yes, that’s why I was running.” I looked at him, my confusion growing. “The Devil assigned me to protect you. When he came to check on you he relieved me, but as soon as I heard the screaming I came to see what the matter was.”

“Oh, well, I was a little bit upset with Endymion and…I stormed out.” I sighed. I had absolutely nowhere to go. I couldn’t go back into that room and I didn’t want to talk to the others because they would try and convince me that it _wasn’t_ about the reincarnation, that Endymion truly loved _me_. I didn’t want to hear it. So where did that leave me? Stuck, is where.

 _What about Beryl?_ A little voice in the back of my head asked. What about her indeed. I know I had just yelled at the Devil for going to her and what would stop her from lying. But I had to know. Was Beryl really alive back then? And what role did she play in Serena and Endymion’s life? _Not that I should care,_ I added on in my head, but as the anger in my veins cooled down a little, I realized that I _did_ care.

I didn’t remember the way to Beryl’s circle and there was also the troubling issue of Diamond being there as well. _I don’t suggest you go down to her circle_ Endymion’s voice ghosted through my head. Yeah, this would probably be the one piece of advice that he gave me that I would pay attention to. But my eyes landed on Rubeus. Well, he didn’t say anything about going with someone. It would probably be better than going alone.

“Hey Rubeus,” I said, my voice sweet. Poor guy didn’t know what was coming… “Would you mind taking a walk with me?”

“Of course not,” he replied walking to my side. “Where to?”

“Actually, I need to head to Beryl’s circle.”

“Beryl’s circle? Why would you want to go there?”

“I have some business with her that I need to discuss.”

Rubeus hesitated at my side for a second, “The Devil would not be happy about this. He’s trying to protect you from Diamond and you going – _willingly_ – into Beryl’s circle. Oh, he would not approve at all.”

“That’s why I’m not going alone,” I replied. “Please, Rubeus. The business with Beryl is very important to the reason Endymion chose me as his mistress.”

He sighed, “Okay, but at the first sign of trouble I’m getting you out of there.”

“That is more than fair,” I agreed and we began our walk into the circles of hell, where I hoped to receive some answers.

* * *

 

“Really? Because if you truly loved me, Endymion, you wouldn’t have screamed out _Serena’s_ name at the end of our love making session earlier.” She spat at me before turning on her heal and walking out of the room. All I could do was stand there in shock. I didn’t go after her because I was reeling from what she had said. Had I really screamed out Serena’s name? And why would I have done that? I had come to realize over the last few days that I loved _Serenity_ not just because she was a reincarnated version of Serena, but because of whom she was. She was strong willed and didn’t stand for much, but in her darkest hour she could break down and let people see her vulnerable side. It was something that intrigued me about her.

But why had I called out Serena’s name then? Was it because of the memory that Serenity and I were talking about earlier? Or was it because I was thinking about how the moment we were having before that reminded me so much of when Serena declared her love for me? It didn’t make any sense and I knew in that moment that I needed to go after her and convince her that it was really _her_ I loved. It had only been a few minutes, if that, and she shouldn’t have gotten that far. I quickly made my way to the entrance of my rooms but froze _again_.

Serenity really hadn’t gotten that far. She was less than five feet from my room and she had run into Rubeus. I stayed hidden and began listening in on their conversation.

“Hey Rubeus,” she said to him, an air in her voice that I recognized as seduction. I moved closer, about ready to walk in and break this up, when she continued. “Would you mind taking a walk with me?”

My brow furrowed. A walk? Why would she want to take a walk with Rubeus? Unless, my head supplied, she wanted to take a walk to calm down and because Diamond was now in hell (because who knew if Beryl was really looking after him?) she wanted to go with protection. The thought comforted me. I was about to disappear to talk to the master and mistresses about what had just happened and my suspicions about Beryl when Serenity continued talking.

“Actually, I need to head to Beryl’s circle.”

 _What?_ My head screamed and paid more attention to the conversation. She couldn’t be serious. She had just yelled at me – me, the _Devil_ – about going to see her and here she was wanting to go down there herself. Even though it was a hundred times more dangerous for her. _Especially_ with Diamond down there!

“The Devil would not be happy about this,” _Damn straight._ “He’s trying to protect you from Diamond and you going – _willingly_ – into Beryl’s circle. Oh, he would not approve at all.” I knew Rubeus was one of my favorite guards for a reason. I was going to promote him…

“That’s why I’m not going alone. Please Rubeus. The business with Beryl is very important to the reason Endymion chose me as his mistress.”

Rubeus sighed, “Okay, but at the first sign of trouble I’m getting you out of there.” I growled. Forget promotion. I was going to demote him. How dare he succumb to those cornflower blue eyes! He was supposed to be working for _me_. I walked forward intent on stopping them before something bad happened. _Don’t even think about it, Endymion._ A feminine voice yelled in my head. I stopped in my tracks. I recognized that voice. But it couldn’t be…I stepped forward testing to see if it was just my imagination…

 _Endymion_ , her curt, short voice interrupted again. _Let her go. She needs to find out the answers on her own._

_Serena, how can you -?_

_Shush, love, and trust me. Don’t you think it’s a good sign that Serenity is going to see Beryl?_

_How can it be a good sign? She could wind up in serious trouble!_

_It’s a good sign because it means that she wants answers. Contradicting what she just told you, she_ does _care about what happened back then. And Rubeus won’t let anything happen to her._

_So, does that mean she’s really who I think she is?_

She laughed in my head. _I can’t tell you that._

It had been worth a shot. _I miss you,_ I thought to her.

 _I know._ Her voice faded from my mind and I just stood there thinking. Had I just imagined all of that? Because how crazy was it to be talking to my deceased fiancé from over five hundred years ago in my mind? Pretty damn crazy, and I’d seen a few things in five hundred years of being the Devil. I shook my head and cleared it all away. Apparently, I wasn’t supposed to be following Serenity. Serena had made that pretty clear. She wanted space and I was going to give it to her. Even if I was going to be on edge until she returned.

* * *

 

Moans filtered through my ears as we moved into the circles of hell. I was beginning to second-guess myself about this as the moans and soon screams of pain and fright reached my ears. I shuddered involuntarily, catching Rubeus’ attention.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked his voice low and soothing. “We can still turn back. It’s not too late.”

“No,” I replied being defiant. “I need answers before I can go back to Endymion’s side. I’m entitled to that much.” He only nodded his head in response. We continued walking and eventually stopped when someone blocked our path.

It was Diamond. His arms were crossed over his chest and he wore a smirk.

“Well, well,” he said. “Look who it is. My dear little whore, slumming it in the circles, I see.” My palm itched, wanting to smack him again, and Rubeus was tense beside me. “Hm…she did say to expect you soon.”

“I told you not to call me that,” I seethed.

He backed up and offered his hands up in mock surrender as if he knew that I wanted to slap him across the face again. “Easy there, Serenity. Remember I’m under strict orders not to harm you. Unless I want another visit from the true Devil, which just between the three of us, I don’t.”

“You might be smarter than I pegged you for,” I said. “But back to what you said. I’m assuming when you say ‘she did say to expect you soon,’ you mean Beryl?”

“That’s exactly who I mean,” he turned around. “Come, she doesn’t like to be kept waiting.” He began walking, assuming that Rubeus and I would follow, we did. As we walked, I couldn’t help but laugh internally at the turn of events. I didn’t imagine Diamond ever being someone’s ‘errand boy,’ but here he was, walking me to Beryl’s lair. Sometimes things could turn out differently than how you expected them to be.

“Here we are, Beryl, just like you believed,” Diamond said breaking me out of my thoughts. The woman who I had only seen once – in the flesh, at least – stood, and I realized that she was rather tall. I wasn’t that tall myself, but sheesh; she had to be at least five foot ten. I was a dwarf compared to her. And as my gaze finally took her in, she apparently dwarfed me, in more ways then one. Her nails were longer, sharper and deadlier than mine. Her waist was unnaturally thin in width, and I was surprised that she was able to stand considering her chest was _voluptuous_ at best. If what I suspected was true, it was no surprise that Endymion chose her. Except for ‘insanity.’ Whatever that might be.

“Yes, hello, Serenity, I’ve been expecting you.” She smiled and I instantly shied away. She had _fangs_. What the -?

“If you were expecting me,” I said trying to regain my balance and sense. I couldn’t let her fangs unnerve me when we had a very long conversation ahead of us. “Then you already know what I’ve come to talk to you about.”

“Indeed, I do,” she motioned to the chair across from her. “Have a seat. We’re probably going to be here awhile.”

* * *

 

Endymion’s thoughts were crowded as he appeared in the dining hall, but only Kunzite and Nephrite were there. He paid them no mind and instantly sat down.

“Endymion?” Kunzite asked, concern in his voice. They had never seen him this out of it before. Something was up and there were two options as to what was causing his state. Serenity or Serena. But then again, it could be a combination of the two. Okay, so maybe there were three options. But no matter what, the Devil was having woman trouble.

“I need the rest of the masters and mistresses here,” he was able to croak out. The two masters exchanged looks and left to find the others. The Devil leaned forward in his seat and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. When had things become so complicated for him? He wondered and let out a deep sigh. Serenity was on her way to Beryl’s circle to talk to her about their past. Serena had stopped him from going after her. _Serena. Serenity. Serena. Serenity._ No wonder he had so many problems.

He thought everything was going to be fine. He thought after five hundred years, he was finally, _finally_ going to be happy. But it wasn’t meant to be. Serenity lived out the memory, his second favorite memory of all time. The first being, of course, the day Serena had agreed to marry him. Yet someone was in that memory. Someone that he didn’t remember being there. That’s why he began to question Beryl’s motives.

She had been the last woman he had been with three hundred years ago. It was the eighteenth century in the world up above when she first arrived. The Salem Witch Trials had been eighteen years previous, but she had still been burned for being a witch. Instead of sending her to the third circle for eternity, he made her in charge of the seventh. The previous holder of the position had allowed himself to be consumed by the souls and Endymion knew that the next had to be stronger in will. That day was one of the few times that he attended the sentencing of the day’s dead. When she was presented, there was something different about her. But unlike with Serenity it was something more… _wicked_. By that point, only Kunzite, Zoicite, Nephrite and Amy had been with him then. Nephrite did not get the same feeling about her that Zoicite had gotten when Amy appeared. Kunzite showed no interest in her whatsoever. So Endymion decided to offer her the position, which she instantly accepted. At that point, he ignored the looks she gave him. But not for long. Eventually he caved, but soon he realized there was something totally off about her. He couldn’t name what it was but he learned quickly.

That was the last time Endymion had been with a woman until Serenity had shown up. Now, that he was thinking about it, he realized that maybe Beryl really _did_ burn for being a witch. How else could she have implanted herself into Serenity’s dream/memory? Since Endymion could not recall Beryl being alive during their time. He ran his hands through his hair again, out of frustration and hoped that Serenity was having better luck.

* * *

 

I had sat down on the chair and was trying not to forget the reason I had come. Beryl’s fangs were still unnerving. I mean, who the hell had fangs other than vampires? And as I thought about it, that was all I needed. Somewhat normal life? Check. Life cut too short? Check. Waking up in a weird paranormal universe? Check. Forbidden love that spins centuries with the Devil himself? Check. Reincarnation? Check. Crazy, diabolical villain? I looked at both Diamond and Beryl. Double check. Add in vampires and I would have a paranormal romance novel that would be worse than _Twilight_ (and that’s saying something) on my hands. But the problem was, this _wasn’t_ fiction. This was _my_ life, or _after_ life anyway. I needed to start asking questions. I needed the truth.

“So, you already know why I’m here,” I began.

“Yes.”

“Then start talking Beryl. What _haven’t_ you told Endymion over the last three hundred years?”

“Well,” she grinned. “Aren’t you more perceptive than Endymion? You see, when I first came to hell, it was because I had been burned for being a witch. Upon my arrival, I was sentenced, and just like you the Devil was at my sentencing. When I first laid eyes upon him, I couldn’t take my eyes away. He was handsome, obviously, but there was something else. Something I couldn’t quite name. He looked familiar to me and I couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t until a hundred years later, after he had cast me aside that I figured out why.”

“Cast you aside?” I asked.

“Yes, cast me aside. You know that we slept together once when I first got here? I don’t know why but after that he didn’t want me anymore, or any woman really. Until you.” She looked at me, as if analyzing me. Trying to figure out what it was about me that kept Endymion. “Anyway, like I said, after a hundred years, I started having these dreams that were like memories. They were of a time, I think, back in the 1500s. But Endymion was in them. Only he wasn’t the Devil then. He was Lord Endymion Rockwood.”

“And these dreams, did they occur everyday?”

“No. It would sometimes be months or even years before I would have another dream.” She looked at me contemplating. “In these dreams, I was Lady Bethany Valney. The last one I had, included you.”

“It wasn’t me,” I replied. “That was Lady Serena Salvatore.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Do you know why Lady Bethany was there following Lord Endymion and Lady Serena? She looked really angry.”

“I do know,” she whispered. “But I’m not sure if this is the answer you want.”

“I need to know, Beryl. Why was she there?”

“From what I can see, Lady Bethany was following Endymion and Serenity that day because before Serena, he was betrothed to Bethany and he never broke off that engagement.”

The words settled around me like a cloud, a storm cloud actually. Endymion was betrothed to Bethany. Flash of lightning, followed by a crack of thunder. He never broke off that engagement. Hail and powerful winds. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to react. One thing I was aware of was Rubeus at my side gently touching my arm.

“Serenity, are you okay?”

Such a simple question. Was I okay? No, actually I wasn’t. My heart despite my best intentions was shattering as the words repeated in my head. Before I was stuck but had plans to get unstuck by getting answers. Now that I had my answers, I wasn’t just stuck. I was royally screwed.

“No,” I finally replied, a frog stuck in my throat. “I am not okay.”

“I’m sorry, Serenity, but I did warn you that it might not be what you wanted to hear.”

“Yes, you did, but somehow that wasn’t what I was expecting.” We fell into silence and I was still stuck on what I had just learned. Endymion had been engaged before he met Serena, but yet he had pursued her anyway. She had been right about him all along. He didn’t change his spots. He was still a player, and she had fallen for him. Fallen really hard.

“You love him, don’t you?” Beryl whispered and I looked at her in shock.

Of course, before all of this had gone down, I was in love with Endymion or at least, I _thought_ I had been in love with him. But now? “I thought I did, but now I’m not sure.”

“It can’t be easy being his mistress and knowing what you know now. How are you going to go back?”

“I don’t know. I’m stuck in a really bad situation.” Another silence fell and I felt Rubeus being restless beside me. He didn’t like being here any longer than necessary, but I didn’t know if I could go back there. Not with what I knew.

“What if you didn’t have to go back?”

“And where exactly would I go? It’s not like I have many options.” _Note to future self. Don’t ever get into a fight with the Devil when you are stuck in hell forever_.

“Well, for the moment you could go back to your old town until you figure things out.”

Wait, what?

“What are you talking about, Beryl? I can’t go back to my old hometown. I’m dead, remember? Stuck in hell for all eternity.”

“But there’s always a way,” Beryl grinned her fangs popping out. “In a few minutes it will be November first on Earth. And do you know what November first is?”

“Other than the day after Halloween?” I countered, my head starting to pound from the confusion this day had brought.

“In some cultures, November first is believed to be the day of the dead. Most people believe that on this day people who have died come back as spirits and ‘check in’ on the ones they left behind.”

“Can it be done?” I asked, my interest peeking ten fold. A chance to go back, see the people I left behind? If it could be done, I was going to jump at the chance.

“Yes, of course,” she replied smiling. “I was burned for being a witch, you know, and despite some people being falsely accused. Well, let’s just say there was a bit of truth to the burning.”

“Serenity, I must intercede. Don’t do this! Endymion will not be-”

“Endymion is exactly why I should do this,” I cut him off. I turned my attention to Beryl. “Okay, let’s do it.”

“Very well,” she ruffled behind her and came up with a dusty old tomb. She flipped a few pages and nodded as she scanned one. “Now, for this to work, you need to imagine where you want to go. And when you finally make up your mind, before midnight you _have_ to return to that same place if you want to come back.”

“Right.” _If I want to come back_ , I repeated.

“Now, take my hands…”

* * *

 

I had just told them everything and all they could do was stare at me in shock. Mina probably had a more curious expression since she hadn’t been here as long and didn’t quite know the extent of Beryl. But the others knew and they didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to say either. I felt like I was losing my mind. Serena had been in my head _talking_ to me, warning me not to follow Serenity. Did that mean that she was Serena reincarnated? Ugh…too much thinking.

“How could she believe that Beryl was there back in your time? Why didn’t she believe you?” Raye whispered.

“After what happened before?” Lita asked. “Obviously, Serenity was feeling a bit _insecure_ and with him saying Serena’s name after they made love, I can see why she finally cracked. But that doesn’t explain why Beryl would go through the trouble of implanting that memory. What would she have to gain?”

“I think that would be obvious,” Amy replied. “Beryl has been interested in Endymion since she arrived here. But when he refused to sleep with her or any other woman for that matter and started sleeping with Serenity, she was going to try and break the two of them up. And with her being insecure…well, she had her opening.”

“That Beryl woman is more trouble than she’s worth,” I said. “I should have sentenced her to a circle, so that way this wouldn’t have happened.” I punched the table in front of me out of frustration. I was worried about Serenity, I was angry at Beryl and I was hurt because Serenity didn’t believe in any of this. She had seemed like a strong woman when we had first met, but she obviously wasn’t strong enough, because if she were, she wouldn’t have ran at the first sign of trouble.

“You can’t blame yourself, Endymion,” Kunzite said. “How could you have possibly foreseen this?” A silence fell over everyone and I just sat there staring at nothing. If Serenity came back and still did not believe, I don’t know what I would do. I guess I would have to wait. Wait –

“Lord Endymion!” Rubeus exclaimed running into the room. I looked up and noticed right away that Serenity was not with him. The frantic expression on his face told me that something had gone wrong.

“Rubeus, where is Serenity?” My voice was almost hysterical. Did Diamond do something? Did Beryl? A hundred possibilities ran through my head as I waited for him to catch his breath and speak.

“I tried to stop her, but Beryl was filling her head with lies and Lady Serenity didn’t want to be here anymore.”

“Where is she?” I asked again, my voice stern, almost angry.

“She’s gone, Lord Endymion.”

“Gone? What do you mean _gone_?”

“Beryl used her magic and transported her to the world of the living. Today is the Day of the Dead. She’s gone.” Rubeus said.

The Day of the Dead. It all came crashing in on me. The one day the dead can visit the world of the living. The problem was people who visited usually never came back, and with the way Serenity had left, I wouldn’t put it past her to not return as well. I slumped into my seat. Serenity was gone and she wasn’t coming back. I had lost her forever.

* * *

 

I didn’t understand what had happened. One minute I was in hell, holding Beryl’s hand, the next I was standing on the sidewalk in front of the arcade that Andrew worked at. So. Beryl _hadn’t_ been lying. The Day of the Dead was real. I looked around me, feeling somewhat nostalgic. I forgot how much I missed all of this.

I turned around and took a good look at the arcade. I had spent a lot of time here before I died. Mostly because Andrew worked here and we’d always hang out here when I was on my lunch break. It wasn’t too far from the doctor’s office where I worked at. I wanted to go in and get a glimpse of Andrew working behind that counter one last time, but if what Diamond said was true, he had been arrested and wouldn’t be there.

The bell above the door chimed as someone exited the building. I looked over and felt my mouth drop. He was standing right there staring at me.

“I thought that was you,” he said coming closer.

“Andrew?” I asked confused. “You can see me?”

“Of course, I can see you, everybody can see you, well, us.”

“Us? But _I’m_ dead, you’re not,” I said walking up to him and poking him in the chest, to prove my point.

He shook his head, “Do you even know what’s happened to me since you died?”

“Only somewhat. I know that you’ve killed Diamond, which I need to yell at you for later. Then you got arrested. After that, I’m clueless. So, tell me what’s happened.”

“I got arrested, tried for murder and found guilty. Then about two weeks ago they executed the death penalty. So, actually, Serenity, I _am_ dead.” I know my eyes widened at this bit of information. Andrew was dead? He was like me? Then why hadn’t I seen him in hell? Since he _had_ killed somebody, he was bound to show up there. I voiced my concerns and he just smiled.

“He said you would ask me that. I’m stuck here because I have some unfinished business to attend to before I can move on to whatever is in the cards for me now.”

“What sort of unfinished business?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied, a little short with me that shocked me even more. “But you and I have a schedule to keep. C’mon.” He took my hand and pulled me down the street.

“Wait, wait, just a minute. I still have a bone to pick with you. I’m still pissed that you killed Diamond.”

“Why? I avenged your death. I gave you and your mother justice.”

“Still you shouldn’t have – wait, what are you talking about? How did you even know I was murdered? Diamond made my death look like a suicide. And how did you give my mother justice?”

“One question at a time,” he replied still pulling me down the street at a quick pace. “Yes, Diamond made your death look like a suicide, but he forgot two things. One that I knew you and knew that you wouldn’t do it. And two, Haruka knew what you were really up to that night and she told me. As for your mother, well because your death looked like a suicide, the insurance company wouldn’t pay out what they owed your mother. By me murdering Diamond, an investigation went down to find out why I would kill him. They found out that you and I were friends and that you had been seen that night leaving with him. They put two and two together and they figured that he killed you. So the insurance company paid out. Meaning that your mother is on her way to being in remission.”

So much information poured into my head. My mother was going to live. Diamond had been ousted as my murderer. So where exactly was Andrew taking me?

My question was soon answered as we began walking into Tokyo Cemetery. New question, why did Andrew bring me here? It was sort of creepy with all the tombstones. He continued to drag me through them until we finally stopped in front of one.

It was mine. The creepy factor just increased ten points. I stumbled as he finally let go of my hand and I moved closer to it. Someone had recently been there, since there was a red rose lying at the base. It couldn’t have been my mother since she was bed ridden at the hospital. Not Andrew because he was dead. So who left the rose? The question spun in my head, thinking of every person I knew while I was alive that could possibly leave me a rose. No one came to mind.

“Right on time,” Andrew said from behind me. I stood up and looked to where he was directing. A man was coming out of the fog and as the sun glistened in his hair, it looked blue. But as he came closer, I gasped.

What was Endymion doing here? I couldn’t help but think. I glanced at Andrew feeling slightly betrayed even though there was no way that he knew who he was. He paid me no mind. I focused on Endymion and was about to scream at him when he stopped behind my tombstone.

“So, we meet again, Serena Salvatore,” he said and I noticed that his voice wasn’t quite the same. Was this really Endymion?

“Um, no offense, but I’m not Serena Salvatore,” I replied meekly.

“No, you’re Serenity Anderson, but five hundred years ago my great-great-great grandson was in love with you, as Serena Salvatore.”

“Great-great-great grandson? You’re related to Endymion?” I asked feeling a familiar headache beginning at my temple.

“I am,” he smiled. “I am his great-great-great grandfather. He was also my heir to becoming the Devil.”

“Wait. You’re the one who killed Serena five hundred years ago and started all this madness!” I exclaimed.

“Hm…I see Endymion has told you that story, but he got his facts wrong.”

“Wrong? How – damn it,” I swore. I wasn’t supposed to care about this. I was supposed to use this time to get away from it. “Look. I don’t care. I washed my hands of this nonsense when I came up here.” I turned my back on him preparing to walk away and forget about of this once and for all.

But it wasn’t meant to be, for he called out to me.

“You should care, Serenity, because just like then you are the only one who can save him now.”


	14. Finding Her Way Back

_She giggled and he mentally winced. There were a lot of things he could tolerate with this woman, but her giggle wasn’t one of them. In fact, the reason he didn’t like it was because it reminded him of how evil she truly was. Yes, she was a good lay, but a cold twisted woman laid underneath. She would stop at nothing to get what she wanted._

_That’s why he tried to keep her an arm’s length away at all times. Except for today. Today he was weak because of the upcoming Autumn Solstice Ball his family was throwing tomorrow night. But it wasn’t his party that was causing him to feel this way. It was a certain blonde woman who had been haunting him of late. Ever since he saw her a few weeks ago._

_Lady Serena Salvatore. He remembered her from when they were just kids and how gawky and awkward she had been. But after seeing her return from a three-year trip abroad he couldn’t keep his mind off of her. She had definitely grown up in her time away. And he was going to pursue her and obtain her if it was the last thing that he did._

_“Endymion,” his current bed partner purred into his ear. “Why don’t you come back to bed?” His skin began to crawl as she continued to throw herself on him. What had he been thinking giving into his weakness? Especially with Bethany Valney. Now he would be lucky if he could leave there alive and in one piece._

_“I have to go,” he replied shaking her off of him._

_“Well, at least I’ll see you at the ball tomorrow, where we can make it official.” She laid back on the bed her auburn hair spreading out behind her head. She looked satisfied and also pleased with herself._

_“What are you talking about?” He asked._

_“The announcement of our betrothal,” Bethany replied staring at him as if he should have known the answer to that._

_“Betrothal?” He repeated his brow furrowed. “You do understand what this was, don’t you? It was a one night stand, nothing more.”_

_Bethany chuckled as she brought herself up on her knees. She placed her fingers on his chest, lightly touching him. “Oh, love, your naïveté is quite charming,” she placed a kiss where her fingers had been. But she didn’t say another word. This frustrated Endymion and he roughly grabbed Bethany’s hands._

_“What is going on, Bethany?” He asked his anger growing._

_“Your parents and mine have already arranged it years ago. After my eighteenth birthday, you and I are to marry.” He let go as the words sunk in. Marry? Were his parents insane? He would never marry this woman. Even if the fires of hell were at his heals._

_“I have to go,” he said gruffly and turned around to leave this witch’s room._

_“I shall see you tonight then, love,” she sweetly said as she got out of her bed to see him out. “I can’t wait until the people of this town know of our engagement.”_

_Endymion turned around, the anger that had withered away, returned tenfold. He threw her onto the bed and glared at her. “There will be no engagement,” he hissed. “I am not sure what my parents were thinking agreeing to this arrangement. But I can tell you this, Lady Bethany, I will never marry you, so get this fantasy out of your mind. And leave me be, you wench.” With that he turned on his heal and stalked of her room._

**_*End of Flashback*_ **

Endymion woke up abruptly and tried to sit up. But something was holding him back. He tried again but to no avail. What was going on here? He looked above him surprised to find that he was tied to the bed. How in the world? He wondered. The last thing he remembered was coming into his room after finding out that Serenity was gone and just collapsing onto the bed. He must have fallen asleep. But that didn’t explain how he had ended up tied to the bed.

“Ah, I see you have awakened,” a sultry voice said from the doorway. He craned his neck and saw a most revolting sight. It was Beryl and she was dressed proactively. The usual skintight purple dress she wore was gone. In its place was one of the see through dresses that he had tried to convince Serenity to wear on her first night here. Did Beryl have something to do with this?

“Beryl,” he said sternly. “What are you doing here? You should know better than to be in my rooms.”

“And why is that?” She asked.

“Because of what you did to Serenity,” he replied the memories coming back to him. Serenity had gone to see her before she had disappeared from hell. It was because of what she had told her that made her want to leave. It was all Beryl’s fault.

“What I did to Serenity? _I_ did nothing to her. She left on her own accord.”

“On her own accord? I don’t think so. You filled her head with lies and you helped her get back to the world of the living.”

“Well, I did help her go back, but only because she asked me to. I didn’t fill her head with lies, though, Endymion. I told the truth when she asked me certain things about the past.”

“But what would you know about the past? You weren’t there, Beryl! I think I would remember a witch such as yourself!”

“Didn’t you, though?” She asked glancing at him from her place on the bed. “Didn’t you dream something interesting just now? Something from your past?”

Endymion frowned. How did she know about the dream that he had just had about a lady named Bethany? A woman he had no recollection of until this moment.

“And how do you know about that, Beryl? Is it because you planted the memory into my head?” He asked, his voice accusing.

“No, because I saw the same memory. You weren’t the only one taking a nap, you know.”

He stopped and began to get lost in thought. So what Serenity had seen in her memory had been true. Beryl _was_ there over five hundred years ago. Only she was Bethany back then. And they were supposed to be betrothed? Did Serenity know about that? Is that why she had run away?

“What exactly did you tell Serenity?”

“The truth. I told her about Bethany and who she was to you. Not soon after that Serenity asked to be sent back to the world of the living.”

So that was why she had left because she cared that he had been ‘engaged’ before Serena and him had met. He needed to get her back and explain. He needed to go to her. He needed to…

Endymion pulled on the ropes that bound him to his bed. He needed to get out of these ropes. But why was he bound in the first place?

“Beryl, what’s with the ropes?”

“The ropes? Well, you see, Endymion,” she purred and hiked up the purple slip she was wearing. He watched all of this warily. She then proceeded to climb on top of him. “Bethany let you go too easily, but I won’t.” She traced her fingers along his chest. He was afraid of that. He tried to burn the ropes, but they wouldn’t budge.

“You really think I’d make it that easy?” She laughed, which sent shivers of dread up his spine. “But I see that you’re going to do this the hard way. Pity. I wanted you to actually be you when we did this.”

“Me to actually be me?” He asked confused. She just laughed and then began to mutter something.

That was the last thing Endymion remembered. He stopped struggling, his eyes glazed over.

“That’s better,” Beryl whispered and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Now, show me how much you love me, Endymion.” She snapped her fingers and his bonds were released. He looked up at her in wonder and she smiled as she slipped off her purple slip. Bared in all her glory, she leaned down and captured his lips in a deep kiss. Feeling the heat become unbearable, she broke the kiss and lowered the center of her heat onto his at attention member. Beryl groaned at the contact and began riding him.

 _No, Endymion!_ Serena exclaimed as she watched the horrible sight. What had that witch done? He wouldn’t allow this to happen to him. She had to stop it and bring him back. She tried to figure out what was wrong and just as she was getting close something stopped her.

 _Oh,_ Beryl thought in her head with disgust. _It’s_ you _. Are you still here? It’s sort of painful to watch, isn’t it? Well, now you know how I felt five hundred years ago. But unlike you, I’m going to spare you the misery of seeing anymore. Goodbye, Serena._ With a flip of her wrist, Serena was cast out of Endymion’s mind and into utter darkness.

Beryl smiled as she quickened her pace and felt Endymion begin to touch her. He felt so right inside her. Just as he did before and now he was all hers. Nothing was going to come in between her and her devil. Absolutely nothing.

* * *

“You should care, Serenity, because just like then you are the only one who can save him now.” I felt myself stiffen. The part of me that cared started screaming. While the part of me that didn’t care told me to keep walking. This didn’t concern me anymore. I washed my hands of it all when I decided to come up here. When I left Endymion and hell behind. So who was _this_ guy to try and bring me back? He had no right. He –

He was Endymion’s great-great-great grandfather and knew _exactly_ how Serena Salvatore had died five hundred years ago. Despite my best efforts, I really wanted to know everything. How did Serena die, was it really this man who had killed her?

“ _Damn it_ ,” I muttered and turned back around. “What exactly are you talking about? How can _I_ save him? In case you haven’t figured it out, your great-great-great grandson and I did not part on the best of terms when I left.”

“Yes, I am aware of how you left things,” he replied. “And that was because you were told lies. But if you want to know the truth and have the patience, please follow me.” He turned and started walking back into the fog. I just stood there watching him go.

“Serenity,” Andrew hissed. “Why aren’t you following him?”

“How do I know if he’s telling the truth?” I countered. “I don’t want to waste my time.”

“Trust me, he’s telling the truth. He used to be the Devil, he was there five hundred years ago when Endymion was chosen and became the Devil. Besides you have nothing to lose.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“Remember when I said, I have some things to take care of before I can move on? This is it. I need to know that you’re going to be okay.”

“Andrew…” I trailed off. I knew we had been best friends, but to hear him say that really touched me. Forget best friend. He was like the older brother I never had.

“C’mon, Sere,” he took my hand and started running after Endymion’s relative. We finally caught up to him and by the time we did we had exited the cemetery and were back on the main street. A man was on the other side and glanced our way. He was about to keep walking when he froze. His eyes had landed on me.

Why was he stopping? It’s not like I knew him. And holy crap! How was he able to see me? I was dead! I was a spirit/ghost or whatever. I looked at the guys surrounding me, a shocked expression on my face.

“What is going on?” I whispered. “How can he see us?”

“He can’t,” Sapphire replied. “He only thinks he sees you.” A bus passed by at that moment and when it cleared the guy glanced again. He shook his head and continued on his way. Who was that guy anyway? I didn’t know him, but the way he was staring it was like he knew me.

“Come,” Sapphire drew me back to the present. We began walking in the same direction as that guy. “We must follow him as I tell you a story.”

“Why him? It’s not like I know him…” I trailed off and studied him from behind. Wait. He now looked familiar. But it couldn’t be. I broke away from Sapphire and Andrew and ran up to the guy we were following. No. No, it definitely couldn’t be him. But as I rounded him and stopped in front of him, my jaw hit the floor.

The black hair and blue eyes. It was Endymion but at the same time it wasn’t. For one thing, I knew that Endymion wasn’t here, he was back in hell. And the other was that I knew him. In fact, I used to work for him back when I was alive.

“Darien Shields,” I whispered as he walked past me. He stopped as if he heard me and looked around. He shook his head and muttered, “You’re losing it, Shields. She’s not here anymore. She died.” Before going on his way. I looked after him totally shocked. Was he talking about me?

I felt Andrew and Sapphire join me and I turned violently to Endymion’s relative. He had some _major_ explaining to do.

“Why does Darien look like Endymion?” I asked near hysterics. “I thought Endymion’s blood line died with him five hundred years ago? And why can Darien hear and see me if I’m dead?”

“I was afraid of this,” he muttered in response.

“Afraid of what?” I screamed at him. I had had it with all the secrets and hidden stories. I wanted answers and I wanted them _now_. “I know you’re Endymion’s great-great-great grandfather, but you better starting talking, old man.”

“Very well. Do you remember, no, that’s not quite right,” he smiled apologetically. “Has Serena shown you her memory of the day Endymion proposed to her yet?”

“No,” I shook my head. “I’ve only seen up to Endymion telling her that he loves her. That’s when I saw Beryl.”

“Hm, I see. Well, as you know I am Endymion’s relative and was the Devil before he became one. Don’t ask me why that is, because I am not aware of the reason or the story behind how our family was chosen to reign as the Devil. Anyway, I was watching my relative closely because I knew that he was to become the next ruler of the Underworld. I had seen him declare his love for Serena and then I overheard some terrible news. Lady Bethany was crying to her cousin about how she was supposed to marry Endymion and that she was going to be a disgrace to her family because she was with child.

“A few weeks later, I made myself known to Endymion. But I could not tell him who I was yet. As it happens, the first time I saw him he was on his way to propose to Serena. By the time I went to him again the whole town knew of the engagement. Including Bethany. She was forming a plot to kill her and take Endymion for herself.

“When I told my grandson that I was the Devil and he was next in line for the title, he didn’t believe me. Thinking of the plot on Serena’s life, I threatened her, hoping it would change his mind. Surely with him gone, Serena’s life would be spared. But he cast me out, because he thought I was insane.

“On the day of his wedding, I went to go check on Serena only to find Bethany slipping out of her room a smile on her face. I rushed in and found Serena dead. But her spirit remained. I told her who I was and what Endymion was destined to become and she told me that I had to pretend to be her murderer. She knew that Endymion would not be with Bethany and would probably kill himself if he couldn’t spend his life with Serena. If he had someone else to blame for her death he would go after him.”

“But why didn’t she want Bethany to be named the murderer?” I asked.

“Because she knew that Bethany was with child. She didn’t want Endymion to kill a mother and his own baby.”

“So you never killed Serena,” I replied. “Endymion killed you for a crime you never committed.”

“Yes, but it accomplished the task,” Sapphire said. “With my murder, Endymion became the next Devil.”

“So if Bethany was with Endymion’s child, the blood line continued. Meaning that Darien Shields is…”

“A Rockwood, and Endymion’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson.”

“Holy shit,” I muttered and thought about this. Darien Shields was the doctor who I worked for what felt like a million years ago, but was actually only a few months ago. I always thought he was cute and had a slight crush on him. We would always flirt and he got close to asking me out a few times but some thing always interceded. Not that I had the time to date back then with all the shit on my plate. But it was a fantasy that almost came true.

So, then, that meant that rose that was on my tombstone was from him! And what he had said earlier, _she’s not here_. That was about me. “Oh my God,” I whispered. “I can’t believe this.”

“What?” Andrew asked.

“I almost dated Endymion’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson before I died,” I muttered. “Wait a minute. If Endymion has more relatives than why is he still the Devil?”

“Because he has never met them,” Sapphire replied. “He believes as you did, that his blood line ended with him. For there to be a new Devil his relative has to murder him.”

“But why did we have to follow Darien? And why are Serena’s memories in my head?”

“I was wondering when you were going to ask me that. But the reason that Serena’s memories are in your head is because you _are_ Serena’s reincarnation, and you were fated to be Darien’s soul mate. But then fate was thrown off course and you were killed. You were sent to hell and fate righted itself by mating you with Endymion. Beryl, who is Bethany’s reincarnation, felt threatened by this and did everything she could to send you away. To make you doubt Endymion’s love for _you_.”

“Well, she succeeded,” I sighed. “But how did she tell me lies? Bethany was engaged to Endymion and she was carrying his child.”

“The lie that Beryl told you was about the Day of the Dead,” Sapphire replied. “You can’t go back once you leave. Another one of her schemes, I believe. To get you out of hell so she can have Endymion all to herself.”

“Great,” I muttered. “So how am I going to go back and stop her?”

“Well, do you really want to go back and stop her? You said it yourself. Endymion and you didn’t leave things on good terms.”

“You’re right, we didn’t,” I admitted. “But I honestly believe that he wasn’t really engaged to Bethany. And now that I’m gone who knows what sort of hell that witch is raising?”

“Spoken like a woman who truly loves my great-great-great grandson,” Sapphire smiled.

I blushed at the realization. I did love Endymion and yes, I knew that some of it was fueled by Serena’s feelings for him, but what was I to do? Whether I liked it or not, Serena and I were the same person. Only born in different lifetimes. Now that I realized and had accepted that, there was only one problem. Endymion. Did he love me? Or did he love me because I was Serena’s reincarnation?

“You still think he loves you only for Serena, don’t you?” Andrew asked me. I looked up at him startled. I had forgotten that he was there.

“You know me too well, Andrew,” I smiled sadly at him. But that brought back a question that he hadn’t answered from before. “How did you know about all of this?” I asked him.

He smiled, “I was wondering when you were going to realize that I hadn’t answered your question.”

“Well?”

“Well... when I died I was stuck in between this world and the next. I couldn’t go to hell and I couldn’t go to heaven. So I wandered. That’s when I ran into Sapphire here and he told me what my best friend had been up to while she’d been dead. Which, by the way, is quite scandalous.” He winked at me.

“But how do you know that Endymion really loves me for me?”

“Because with Sapphire’s help, I was able to go down to hell and see you. I saw what happened between you and him and I also saw what happened between you and Beryl. But the most important thing I saw was Endymion’s reaction to finding out you left.”

“And how did he react?” I asked curious. This could make or break whether I wanted to try and go back or not. Yes, Endymion needed to be freed from Beryl’s clutches, but if there was no hope for him and me, was there really a point to go back?

“He was devastated,” Andrew replied. “He literally just shut down and into himself. He was so dejected by the thought of losing you forever. I had never seen anything like that. He cares for _you_ , Serenity. You can’t let him suffer any longer.”

“Suffer? How have I made him suffer?” I asked. “He had all the opportunity in the world to tell me what he felt. But instead he let me stumble and guess wildly at what was going on. If anything _he’s_ made _me_ suffer.”

“But now you know the truth,” Sapphire calmly said. “And if you want him to tell you how he truly feels you need to go back and save him. You’re the only one who can.”

“Again with that phrase. I’m the only one who can save him. Save him from what?”

“Have you forgotten what we discussed so quickly, Serenity? With your disappearance from hell, Endymion has shut down completely. Leaving him open and vulnerable to attack.”

“From Beryl,” I finished for him, feeling bile rise from my throat. Images of what the evil woman could do with him made my stomach churn. And if Andrew was right about him shutting down, Sapphire was also right. I was the only one who could bring him back. “Send me back. Send me back now. He has to know the truth. He has to know that I’m not lost forever.”

Both men smiled at me and the blue-haired man nodded at me. “Very well, it is done.” He strode forward, taking my hand into his and kissed me on the lips.

           

* * *

She was falling in the blackness with no end in sight. It was funny when she thought about it. When she had died over five hundred years ago, she had fallen in endless darkness too. But it didn’t last long. Her spirit had quickly started haunting the world of the living.

Sapphire had told her everything and she had told him what to do to get what he wanted. After that it was a haze of haunting her loved ones and then following her reincarnation as the years passed. Then Serenity had been born into the world. Even in the first days, she could tell that this reincarnation was going to be different. Serenity reminded Serena a lot of herself. But when Serenity chose to become a hired assassin and then ultimately died, Serena knew that this reincarnation was bound to follow what her life was supposed to be.

Endymion and Serenity were going to meet and fall desperately in love. Serena followed her reincarnation and almost wept when her eyes landed on him for the first time in five hundred years. But then as things progressed between the two, she sensed another person’s presence. One that she knew all to well.

The witch that had murdered her. Serena’s anger increased and she wondered what this woman had in store for Serenity. She knew that Beryl wouldn’t let the two of them be, and waited to see what the wench would do. When her plan finally became clear, Serena felt like kicking herself. Especially now, as she floated in the darkness and realized all was about to be lost.

She should have let Endymion go after Serenity. She should have told Endymion that Serenity was her reincarnation. But now it was too late. She was sentenced to this darkness forever thanks to Beryl, the witch.

* * *

Back in hell, the masters and mistresses were gathered. They hadn’t seen their master since he had gone to his rooms. They were starting to worry that he would never come out of his room again. Not until Serenity returned.

 _If_ Serenity returned, was what the whole group was thinking. They didn’t know what Beryl had said to her when she went down there for answers, but it obviously made her want to run.

“He was so happy, and she was so right for him,” Lita muttered curled up against Nephrite’s chest. “I finally thought he was going to get his happy ending. But then that bitch had to interfere and ruin everything.”

“We should have overruled Endymion’s ruling years ago,” Kunzite whispered. “We knew something was wrong, but we needed a new head of the seventh circle. No one else was strong enough for the position.”

A silence reigned, trying to find ways that they could have stopped all of this from happening.

“We can’t blame ourselves,” Amy, the levelheaded one, said. “If Beryl hadn’t gotten in the way of what was going on with Endymion and Serenity, something would have split them up. She was unsure even without Beryl’s help. We just have to hope that Serenity will see the light and come back.”

A murmur of consent went through the group and they all stayed quiet. They were hoping that Endymion would come out of his rooms so that way they could see that he was all right, and they were hoping that Serenity would come back. They didn’t know how much more chaos they could take in hell.

Little did they know that the fun was just beginning.


	15. Serena's Last Stand

Sapphire’s lips lightly pecked Serenity’s to seal their promise. What she didn’t know was that kiss was also the end of the spell he was casting to send her back to the Underworld. When he stepped away, she disappeared in a wall of flame. However, unlike with previous spells that the previous Lord of the Underworld casted, this one took more energy. And as he stumbled, he realized that his power was not enough. _That clever witch,_ he though as Andrew steadied him.

“I’m taking it that Serenity is back where she belongs?” Andrew asked, looking at him with a trusting expression. Sapphire grimaced, knowing that this poor boy had put his trust in the wrong person. At least in his mind anyway.

“Not quite,” he responded.

“What? I thought that was the plan? With the kiss, she was supposed to go back and kick Beryl’s ass out!”

“Yes, that _was_ the plan, but we forgot to include something in our calculations.”

“And what would that be?”

“Beryl,” Sapphire replied. “We didn’t think that she would protect hell from Serenity’s return. But she has and I’m afraid that with my attempt to send her back, she is now stuck. In limbo.” He couldn’t believe that he didn’t plan for this. He should have known that that witch wouldn’t leave anything to chance this time. Now, Serenity would never take her rightful place beside his great-great-great grandson. Instead that witch would. Beryl had finally won. Maybe he should have had his great-great-great-grandson kill her five hundred years ago…

“You’re telling me that there’s no way to get Serenity back – either up here or down there? She’s stuck? Forever?”

“I’m afraid so. I don’t have the power to bring her back.”

“I’m sensing a but somewhere,” Andrew commented hoping that this wasn’t how it would end for his friend. Didn’t she get to have a happy ending? Hadn’t she earned that right?

“There’s no but, my son. I’m sorry, I just don’t have the power…” he trailed off as he thought about it. Serena was down there, following Serenity around when he had last visited. Knowing Beryl, she had also sensed her and probably cast her out as well. Which meant that Serena was down there, in limbo, with Serenity. If they joined together they might have the power to get out of there, or at least to contact Raye who could _definitely_ get them out.

“Sapphire?” Andrew called him back.

“You were right, Andrew. There is a but. Let’s just hope that they find each other before it’s too late.”

* * *

I didn’t understand what was happening. One minute I was telling Sapphire that I had to go back and save Endymion from Beryl. The next he was striding towards me, muttering how ‘it was done’ and then I felt a light pressure on my lips as if he was kissing me. In that second, a wall of flame surrounded me, like when Endymion and I used to travel around hell and I knew that I was being sent back. But, this was where things went wrong. As I disappeared, I felt my body slam up against a wall, painfully and then begin to twist in different directions before it all stopped.

Unlike when I woke up in hell, this time I knew for sure that I had died. Again. Why? Because I was surrounded by darkness and everywhere I looked it continued on. Instead of taking me back to hell, Sapphire had killed me, again. How was I supposed to help Endymion, if I was dead again? And wait a minute, if I was dead again where was I? I obviously wasn’t back in hell and I doubted heaven was this dark, so where in the world was I?

“Isn’t it obvious?” A voice chimed from nearby. I looked around trying to find the source, but I couldn’t see anything in the blackness. “Oh, I’m sorry, you probably can’t see me, can you? Hang on a second.” The voice said and as she promised a second later there was a flash of light that lit up the corner of darkness. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the light I looked towards the source of the voice and felt my mouth pop open. Standing before me was…well, _me_. But I knew that it couldn’t be. Or at least, not _entirely_. I had been experiencing enough of her memories to know that the woman who stood before me wasn’t me, but the woman I incarnated – Lady Serena Salvatore.

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m finally seeing and talking to you, Serena,” I said.

She smiled, and I still felt like I was looking into a mirror. “I feel the same, Serenity, especially since I have been watching you for so long.”

“You’ve been watching me?” I asked, surprised.

“Of course, I have. I have always been keeping close watches on my reincarnations. But you, you were different from the others. You reminded me the most of myself.”

“Really?”

“Yes, especially, when you took the job as a hired assassin. That bold, dangerous part of you reminded me a great deal of how I acted around Endymion.” Endymion. Her former lover and the one that I was in love with. If she had been watching me as she claimed, then she knew what I had been doing with her former fiancé. She must hate me.

“Do not look so troubled, Serenity,” she continued. “When your soul was sentenced to hell, I knew who you were going to run into down there. And I also knew what was going to happen. Why else do you think you saw my memories?”

“You mean, you’re the one who put them in my head?” I asked shocked.

“Yes,” Serena nodded. “I figured it out quite quickly that you were the one who was destined to take my place by Endymion’s side. I didn’t want you to be confused as to why, so I planted my memories into your head.”

“And you were okay with me replacing you?”

“Over the centuries of watching, I became aware of the possibility. At least, with Endymion’s bloodline, but then when you died, I knew that fate had to be righted.”

“It’s still not, and it looks like we won’t get the opportunity to do so,” I slumped my head in defeat. “May I ask a question though?”

“Of course,” she smiled encouragingly.

“How exactly am I your reincarnation? From what I saw, you were an only child, and I’m guessing to be a reincarnation I have to be a part of your bloodline.”

“You’re right, to be my reincarnation you have to be a part of my bloodline. But you’re wrong I wasn’t an only child. I had an older brother named Samuel, or as I liked to call him, Sammy. He was like my best friend, but he got married and had to move out. He had a daughter after my death.”

“So, I am a part of your bloodline.”

“Yes, as was your friend.”

“Andrew?”

She nodded, “Andrew is my brother’s reincarnation. I couldn’t dare to believe it when you two first met.”

“Well, that explains why he felt like a brother to me,” I smiled sadly. We fell into a silence, both thinking about everything. Or at least that’s what I was thinking of. It was so surreal to meet my great many times over grandmother. It was also weird to be stuck with her for the rest of eternity. I shuddered at the thought. I was supposed to be saving Endymion right now from Beryl’s clutches. But something had gone wrong and I was stuck here in limbo forever. I sighed.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“It’s just that I’m supposed to be in hell right now, saving Endymion,” I replied.

“Oh? But the last I saw you, you had allowed Beryl to convince you that what Endymion fell for you was only because of me. _And_ that he was the player that he had been before he met me.”

“Exactly, well, I ran into Sapphire and Andrew while I was up there and they told me the truth. Now I’m afraid that Beryl has taken advantage of my absence. But I can’t get back to stop her.”

“Hm…” she thought. “You’re right, Beryl has taken advantage of your absence. She had made Endymion into a mindless drone, I tried to get him back, but she found me and sent me here.” She shuddered. “However, you said that Sapphire tried to send you back?”

“Yes, but I couldn’t get in. I thought I had died again,” I shuddered at the memory of my body being twisted into different directions.

“That witch, apparently she cast a spell so no one gets in or gets out without her say so. She planned for everything this time…” she lingered off and I didn’t know what she was thinking of. If Beryl really had cast a spell to black out all entry and exit from hell than I really was stuck.

“But not everything!” Serena finally exclaimed, a smirk on her lips and a light in her eyes that I recognized because I had worn it myself a few times. It was the look of determination. She had come up with a plan to…well, I don’t know what. But she came up with a plan.

“What didn’t she plan for?” I asked eager to get in on this plan to hopefully escape and get Endymion back from Beryl’s clutches.

“She didn’t plan on us to meet,” she replied smiling. “We can get out of here and back to hell, but we have to become one.”

“Become one?”

“Yes, I have to merge with you and then, using my power, we can contact Raye who will help us get out of here.”

“Your power? I didn’t realize that you were a witch.”

She smiled, “I’m not. I just picked up a few tricks over the centuries. So what do you say? Are you up for it?”

It didn’t take me long to decide. “Let’s do this!” I exclaimed thrilled to have a plan to finally get out of here and back to where I was needed.

* * *

The masters and mistresses of hell knew that something was wrong. They had known since Endymion had heard that Serenity was gone from hell. He had secluded into himself, something none of them had seen before. Then when he did not come out of his room, they started to become anxious. What could have possibly happened to the devil? They were planning on staging an intervention, when Diamond Chambers strode through the grand dinning room.

He was smiling, which they knew wasn’t a good sign. They had seen him blank of all emotion and they had seen him tremble in fear. But this? This was different, which just cemented their fears that something had happened to Endymion.

“Well, if it isn’t the grand masters and mistresses of hell,” he said as he took a seat at their table and put his feet up. “This time, I’m actually happy to say, that it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be in Beryl’s circle paying for the crimes that you’ve committed?” Nephrite seethed, a protective arm going around Lita. The other masters did the same. They didn’t understand what was going on, but if it meant that Diamond was walking free, it couldn’t be good.

“Well, you see, Beryl has been keeping Endymion busy. Trying to console him over the loss of Serenity. So, I’ve been left to my own devices.” He picked up a fork and examined it closely.

“Yes, a loss that she caused,” Raye hissed. “What is that witch planning?”

“Beryl isn’t planning anything,” he replied unfazed by the raven-haired girl’s temper. “Well, not anymore of course since she has what she wants now that Serenity and Serena are gone.”

“Serena?” The room said in unison.

“Oh, yes, the woman who Serenity is reincarnated from has been following her around for awhile. Until recently that is.”

“What did she do?” Amy asked in shock.

But Diamond wouldn’t answer the question. “I’m afraid that is need to know. As for the rest of you, it is Beryl’s wish for you to stay here until she comes to give you specific orders.”

“And who gives her _that_ authority? She forgets that with Endymion’s condition _we_ are in charge.” Kunzite said, his tone cold and hard.

“Yeah, she thought that that was what you would say. So, she told me to tell you this. Endymion has given his power over to Beryl, if you refuse to listen to her command there are about a thousand or so dead souls on the other side of that door who will reinforce it.”

He smirked in victory as he saw looks of disbelief cross their features. Except for the violent tempered black-hair one. She looked like she was about to be sick. But again, he paid her no mind. “She thought you would see it her way.” He got up and left them to their fury and tried not to grimace as he passed those souls that he mentioned. This plan was fantastic except for one small detail. Beryl got her wish with getting Endymion to herself. But he had gotten screwed. Serenity had been cast out. Traitorous little bitch. He shook his head and made his way to his new chambers.  

* * *

Raye had felt the fever hit her before she could rip out Diamond’s throat. The flames overtook her quickly and she tried to keep it within her. That was all she needed was to alert Diamond to her power and that someone was trying to contact her. As soon as he left, she almost let out a sigh of relief. Almost. Jadeite noticed her distress and put his hands into hers.

“Raye, what is wrong?” He asked his voice calm as he tried to cool the pain for her.

“They’re contacting me,” she replied, her teeth grinding together.

“They?”

“It’s Serena and Serenity, they’re trying to get back,” she replied. “Beryl has put up a spell on hell so no one can get in. The only way they can get back is with my help.”

“Then we have to get them back,” Nephrite said. “They’re our only hope now.”

Raye nodded and concentrated hard. _A little help would be appreciated, Lady Serena_ she thought as she kept channeling her power. She felt the surge a moment later and knew that a bridge had been formed.

A flash of light blinded through the room, Raye fell limp and everyone gasped at what they saw. Serenity was standing there in a pair of jeans, a black tank top, a leather jacket and a pair of motorcycle boots. In a word, Serenity looked badass, which was perfect considering what she had to do.

Serenity was back in hell and boy was she about to raise some hell of her own.

* * *

I blinked my eyes, still trying to get used to having another soul inside of me and now I was back in hell. As my eyes fell onto Raye, I couldn’t help but wonder at what price. I rushed to her side to see if she was okay. That had to have taken its toll on her.

“Raye?” I whispered.

“Hey Serenity and Serena,” she replied. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s nice to see you too,” I looked up at everyone else. “All of you. Thanks Raye for bringing us back.”

“Us?” Kunzite asked. “I’m sorry, Serenity, but I only see one person.”

“That’s because she’s inside me,” I said. “The only way I could get out of limbo was if I joined with Serena.”

“Serena? As in, Lady Serena Salvatore the one you’re reincarnated from?”

“One in the same. We have some unfinished business with that Beryl witch. But before I get into that, what happened after I left?”

“We aren’t too sure,” Mina replied. “Rubeus came here saying that you went back to the world of the living with Beryl’s help. As soon as Endymion heard that he became an absolute zombie. He went to his room and we haven’t seen him since.”

“Then you just missed Diamond,” Lita quirped. “Apparently in his current state, all power has been given to Beryl. We’re trapped in here until she says otherwise.” My heart melted at hearing that what Andrew told me about Endymion secluding into himself was true. My head snapped up though when I heard that Beryl had all power over hell and was trapping everyone in this room.

“Trapped? How?”

“According to Diamond, over a thousand dead souls are on the other side of that door,” Nephrite chimed in.

 _Dead souls? Can they really be that dangerous?_ I asked Serena carefully.

_They are in hell for a reason, and if they’ve been down here long enough in the circles, they’re going to want revenge._

“Fantastic,” I said out loud. “Well, does anybody know how to get passed these souls?”

“Of course,” Zoicite said. “All of the masters do. But with over a thousand of them out there against four of us, our chances aren’t good.”

“Does it matter?” Raye finally peeped from her chair. “Endymion is under Beryl’s power and this must end. Are we really going to sit here and do nothing?”

“Four of us against a thousand, Raye, do you want us to perish again?” Jadeite asked.

“There won’t be four of you,” she said. “I can use my power to take some of them down.”

“And I can use my marshal arts abilities,” Lita added.

“You’re both insane if you think we’re going to let you do this!” Nephrite growled.

“What other choice do you have? We need to rescue Endymion and those souls are standing in our way,” I said trying to break up the fight. The longer they quarreled, the longer it took for me to get to Endymion’s rescue.

“Fine, let’s assume Raye and Lita fight with us. That still makes the numbers six to a thousand,” Zoicite said.

“I can fight,” Amy spoke up.

“What? How?” Zoicite asked.

“Raye isn’t the only one with special powers,” she replied. “I used to practice Wicca before I was sent here.” She smiled at the look of surprise that crossed all of our faces.

“Okay, fine. Seven to a thousand, still not great,” Kunzite said and then eyed Mina. “Please tell me you don’t have any tricks up your sleeve, no secret powers or fighting skills.”

“Well, I don’t have any powers,” she whispered and her eyes met him. “But I do know my way around a few weapons.”

I raised my eyebrow in surprise. When Mina and I had first met, she had told me about how she was a hired escort. Nowhere in that explanation had she mentioned anything about weapons training. Then again, it made sense if she wanted to protect herself from any client who got too handsy.

“Eight to a thousand,” he muttered and then turned to me. “Make that nine. I’m guessing you want to be a part of this?”

“Of course, I do,” I replied. “And don’t make me give my credentials. Or do I have to remind you why I was sent to hell?”

“Not at all,” Kunzite shook his head. “But you are not staying for the whole battle. As soon as we clear a path for you, you are to go to Endymion and Beryl. Understand?”

“Yeah, I hear you. So, how do you fight a dead soul?”

* * *

The plan was simple; Mina and the other girls (minus me) would leave the room first. We were hoping the appearance of the mistresses would be somewhat of a shock to the souls. It was a long shot, but it was the best plan we could come up with. After the girls, the guys would come out and then after the melee started it would be my turn. However, Kunzite and the others didn’t want me to fight unless it was absolutely necessary. And it had nothing to do with my lack of ability. They knew that I was going to need my strength if I was to go after Beryl.

So I hunched in a corner near the door and watched as the girls walked outside and put our plan into motion. The souls didn’t fall for it as easily as we had hoped, but instead of hearing feminine screams, we heard piercing wails.

“I’m assuming those are…”

“The screams of the souls going back to their circles,” Kunzite nodded. We continued to watch and when we saw Mina’s flash of golden hair at the door, the masters ran out and began _their_ assault.

The sound of wails increased tenfold and I couldn’t help but smile. These guys really did know how to defeat these souls.

 _Well, of course they do. They_ are _the masters of hell,_ Serena said in my mind. I nodded and continued to watch from my corner. I wasn’t expecting my signal to come soon, so I sat down cross-legged on the ground watching and listening carefully.

That’s why I wasn’t expecting Zoicite at the doorframe so soon. I let out a little squeak in surprise and he grinned crookedly. There was sweat matted on his forehead.

“You’re clear to go, Serenity,” he said as I got up off the floor. I jogged over to the door and stared out shocked by what I found. All the souls were gone.

“I didn’t see that coming,” I said as I walked out into the hall. The girls were on the floor, wiping away the sweat, with their lovers hovering nearby.

“They were quite easy to get rid of with Raye and Amy’s help,” Zoicite said. “Now, go. Save Endymion from that bitch.” I looked up, stunned by the language he had used, but shook it off. Beryl was a total bitch. I nodded my thanks and ran off towards the room Endymion and I used to sleep in together. I sighed in reminisce and hoped that I would be able to experience that feeling again. Someone else sighed in my head and I winced when I remembered that Serena was still there.

 _Oops. Sorry,_ I muttered.

_Don’t worry about it, Serenity. I just really miss him._

I could relate to that, thinking about all the people from my previous life that I missed dearly. Which reminded me of a question that I had been wondering about since we had ‘merged’ together.

 _It’s a good question,_ Serena said. _But the plan is, when we go after Beryl I’m going to separate from you and hopefully with the last of my power I will be able to get rid of her once and for all._

_But what will happen to you?_

_I will finally be able to move on._

The last sentiment brought silence between us. I knew eventually she would have to move on, but to know that it was Beryl who was keeping her here was sort of alarming. I didn’t think Serena was the type to hold out because of revenge. But after what that witch had done, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Before I arrived at the familiar red door, there was one thing standing in my way. We had all planned on the souls and Beryl, but there was one person we forgot to plan for.

“Diamond,” I said my tone cold and angry. He was the reason I was down here at all. If it wasn’t for him, I would still be alive. And if it weren’t for him Beryl wouldn’t have met me until I was more solid about my feelings about Endymion.

“Serenity,” he said, a smile actually on his face. “And here I thought Beryl had put a spell on hell so no one could get back in. Not that I’m angry mind you. In fact, I’m really happy to see you.”

I glared at him, guessing just how _happy_ he was to see me. If I was right, then Diamond had teamed up with Beryl to get me out of the way so she could be free to obtain Endymion. My anger increased and I realized that before I could free Endymion from Beryl’s clutches I was going to have to face off with Diamond. A face off that was a long time coming.

“I bet,” I said sarcastically. “Now, get out of my way. It’s time to put that bitch back in her place.” I stepped forward, but he didn’t budge. He looked at me as if he was amused by all of this.

“I don’t think so, Serenity. For you see, Beryl and I made a deal. I help her get Endymion and then I get you.”

I scoffed, “Seems that plan didn’t work in your favor, did it? Beryl sent me back to the world of the living and cast a spell to keep me out. She got Endymion and you got nothing.”

“True, but now you’re back,” he smiled. “Which you really need to tell me how you did that. Beryl’s spells are pretty much unbreakable.”

“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to just go without a fight.”

“Ah. Is that what this is about? You’re still sore about how you died?” He asked. “Because, I really am sorry about that. I probably shouldn’t have killed you.”

That caught me unaware. “Wait, what?”

“After I killed you, I realized I made a mistake, I couldn’t get you out of my head. You’re beautiful, smart and feisty. Everything I ever wanted in a woman.” He took a step closer and I just looked at him. How stupid did he think I was? The only reason he regretted killing me was because I was a good lay.

“Right, I’m so sure,” I hissed as I stepped out of his reach. “You’re nothing by a sick pig, Diamond Chambers.”

“Ouch, that hurts, Serenity.”

“Because I care about your feelings,” I snapped. “You killed me, Diamond. You don’t get take backs on that. If anything, you deserve to die again, but this time, by my hand.”

“Right, like you could kill me.”

“I sure can, especially because you don’t get any advantages this time.” I rushed him, which surprised him enough that he didn’t have enough time to fight back. I was able to push him against a wall. His head hit the cave like wall with a loud _thwack_ and I smiled at the sound. This alone wouldn’t kill him, but sure made me feel better. I threw back my fist and had it hit him square in the face. I felt cartilage break beneath my knuckles. No blood came from his nose, since he was already dead.

I threw back my fist again, this time to hit him in the stomach when he caught my fist and twisted my hand. Using a move I didn’t think he knew, he had me pinned to the wall and had me flush against him. This position felt like déjà vu all over again. Only this time, I couldn’t die, but I would probably become his sex slave if I didn’t do something soon.

I could feel his breath on me as his lips neared mine. He was laughing. “Now doesn’t this feel familiar?” He asked, goading me with the fact that he had me pinned against the wall. I grimaced hating the fact that I underestimated him again. But he should know to not underestimate me. I may not have been able to fight back last time and I may not have an angry devil at my side this time, but that didn’t matter. I was more than capable of taking him down myself.

“Almost, but not quite,” I said and kneed him straight in the crotch. He backed up quickly as he doubled over in pain. I slipped away from the wall and prepared for him to come after me, when something unexpected happened.

He let out a wail of pain and disappeared. My mouth popped open in wonder. It couldn’t have been that easy to get rid of him. I mean the only thing a kick to the crotch did last time was made him angry. But now…

 _You forget Diamond is a dead soul now. That kick sent him back to where he belonged and unlike with Beryl he will actually be treated like a dead soul now._ Serena chimed in and I nodded before turning back to that red door. I tried to prepare myself for what vile disgusting sights awaited me beyond that door. But how do you prepare for seeing a witch with a bewitched version of your lover?

Answer? You don’t prepare, you go into that room, determined to get back what is rightfully yours. So, I did just that. I didn’t think and walked right into Endymion’s chambers. I tried to keep my footsteps quiet, thinking that I might as well surprise her and get the upper hand for once. I walked through the living room, not surprised to find them empty. Beryl and Endymion would be in the bedroom. I took a deep breath and continued on. I silently opened the door to the bedroom and sure enough she was on top of him, her head thrown back in passion.

Anger rushed through my veins, partly Serena’s and mostly my own. I slammed the door to the bedroom shut, causing Beryl to fall backwards and stare up at me. I saw the emotions play out across her face – surprise, shock and anger.

I smirked, “Honey, I’m home.”  

* * *

He was struggling through the blackness not sure where he was. One minute he had been talking to Beryl, the next he was here. This everlasting darkness almost felt like he was drowning in it. How had it gotten to this? He was the devil, he shouldn’t have fallen so easily into Beryl’s trap. He should have seen through every thing. He should have warned Serenity about how conniving that witch really was.

Serenity. The name alone sent him deeper into the blackness. It didn’t matter what he should have done. The problem was that he hadn’t done those things. He had been an absolute moron. He would never get another chance.

“Honey, I’m home,” a familiar voice broke through. He knew that voice, but how? Serenity? But it couldn’t be her. Beryl had made sure that she was out of the way before taking over anything. Yet he was _sure_ that that was her voice he had heard. He had to know.

With a strength that he didn’t know he had, his eyes opened and he was back in his room. And as they continued to search, he found what he was looking for. It really was _her_. “Serenity,” he breathed, causing both Beryl and her to stare at him.           

* * *

I blinked in surprise as Endymion said my name and seemed to know who I was. I hadn’t been expecting that. From what Serena had told me, I thought I was going to find an empty shell. Beryl’s own personal sex slave with no mind of his own. So, what the hell was this?

Beryl seemed to be in shock about the recent revelation as well. She righted herself and looked at the devil closely, _really_ closely. So close, in fact, that he proved that what the two of us had heard wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction but actually _him_. He glared with animosity at her before disappearing in a wall of flame and reappearing (fully clothed) in front of me. His eyes searched mine, trying to see if it was really me and I could only smile at his attempt.

“You know if you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to think that there’s something wrong with my face,” I joked, which caused him to smile and reach out to pull me into his arms.

“You came back,” he whispered into my hair. “I didn’t think you would. Not after going back to the living.”

“Yeah, well, being alive isn’t what it’s cracked up to be,” I replied. “That and I had some unfinished business back here to take care of.” I stepped out of his arms, even though I wouldn’t have minded being in them for a little while longer. But I knew that I couldn’t be without getting rid of one remaining obstacle. And as Endymion stepped to my side, I could see that I wasn’t going to be as lucky as I had been with Diamond.

Beryl was pissed. Her emerald eyes burned as she took in the scene in front of her. Endymion, who had been all hers, was standing by my side, the woman she thought she had gotten rid of for good. But as Serena showed me, even back then, Beryl/Bethany always got her way. She was going to stop at nothing to get her way even if that meant that she had to kill me, again.

 _And don’t be fooled,_ Serena chimed in my head. _Unlike Diamond, she does know how to kill you. Or at least trap your soul in limbo forever._

 _Of course she can,_ I replied sarcastically. _Evil bitch._ I added on as a second thought. Serena laughed darkly in agreement. We watched with abated breath as Beryl clothed herself and got out of the bed. Her hair seemed to take on a life of its own as it floated around her.

“Well, if it isn’t Serenity, back from the land of the living so soon?” She asked her voice calm even though her eyes told a different story.

“Sure am. I took care of what I needed to and learned some new information as well,” I replied, my voice _almost_ as calm. I felt Endymion’s stare and knew he was wondering just what exactly it was that I had learned. But I knew that I couldn’t tell him any of it. Not unless I wanted to bring Darien into this, which I didn’t. So I tried not to stare back at him. However, Beryl didn’t seem to want to play along with me.

“And what exactly could you have learned up there, that you didn’t know already?” She asked.

“The truth. About you and Bethany.”

That shocked her. Her mouth opened for a moment before she closed it again. She had to remember whom she was talking to. “Bethany and me? That’s quite interesting. How could you have possibly come by that information? There shouldn’t be anyone up there who could tell you…” she mumbled the last bit, but I still heard her.

This is where it began to get difficult. I couldn’t really say that I had run into Sapphire while I was up there. Well, I _could_ , but then Endymion would start to ask questions about what exactly the former devil had told me. Which would somehow lead to the reveal that Bethany was actually the one who killed Serena because she was caring his child and that his bloodline still continued on. Yeah, this wasn’t quite what I had in mind. But there was someone who I could say I learned it from that wouldn’t bring up too many questions.

“Who said I learned it while I was up there? You see a funny thing happened to me, when I tried to get back I got stuck in limbo. And we both know who I met while down there.” I said, raising my eyebrow as if trying to challenge her.

“Hm… I knew that little slut would come back to bite me in the ass,” she growled. I felt Serena get prickly at that statement. I couldn’t blame her. From where I was standing the only slut in the room was Beryl.

 _Agreed,_ Serena mumbled.

“But she has nothing to do with this. Not anymore. So, I will take you out and resume with my plan.” With a burst of speed that I didn’t think her capable of, she rushed me. Before Endymion could interfere, we were somewhere else. I looked around me trying to place the room. The darkened walls, lit by flamed torches didn’t have any furniture. She chuckled at my shocked expression. I had no idea where she had taken me. This was nowhere within hell.

“Or so you think,” she whispered. “Your stay in hell so far has been pleasant. But as a head of one of the circles of hell, I am going to show you what hell is really about.” She snapped her fingers and that uncomfortable feeling of my body being twisted in every which direction hit me fast. I fell to the ground in pain and in anger. This was low, using her witchy powers against me. Talk about a disadvantage but then again when had Beryl ever fought fair? She stalked towards me taking advantage of my vulnerable state and I waited for the final blow knowing that there was nothing that I could do.

 _I don’t think so,_ Serena hissed in my head and just as quickly as it came, the pain was gone. I breathed in a sigh of relief.

 _A few tricks up your sleeves, eh?_ I commented as I stood up. Much to Beryl’s surprise.

“How?” She asked dumbfounded. “You should still be on the floor, writing in pain. No one can break my spells! No one!”

“Yeah, and that’s what you said about your security spell on hell too, and look who was able to come in. Guess your spells just don’t work on me.” I said jumping her. She fell back with ease and almost hit her head on a jagged rock nearby when she disappeared. Not wanting her to surprise attack me, I spun around quickly my eyes searching for her. She reappeared on my left, in my peripheral vision.

“There’s something more going on here,” she said as we circled each other. “There is no way that you are doing this by yourself. I would have sensed if you had this kind of power.”

“Just admit it, Beryl. You are going to lose. Endymion will never be yours.” I kicked her squarely in the chest, sending her sprawling backwards. Before she had the chance to disappear, I rushed her again. Only this time, Serena was there with me.

She came out of my body and grabbed a hold of Beryl. This shocked her.

“You?” She choked. “I thought I got rid of you too!”

“Looks can be deceiving,” Serena replied and smirked. “This is for killing me and taking away my one true chance of happiness.”

“No!” She tried to exclaim, but it was too late. She was thrown through the air, and disappeared only I didn’t think that she was going to reappear this time. I stared at the spot where Beryl had been, not believing that it was over. I sighed in relief and turned around to find a way of here when my eyes found a different sight.

Serena, who was supposed to have disappeared with Beryl, was still here. She looked at me with the same expression that was probably on my face.

“Serena,” I whispered. We stared at each other, not sure what to do. We hadn’t planned on this.

“I thought - ”

“So did I,” she cut me off. “But it didn’t happen.”

“Okay, so what does this mean?” I asked, but she didn’t answer me. Instead we both watched as a wall of flame arrived in the room. Well, this was going to be interesting. Endymion was going to see his former lover for the first time in five hundred years. Only when the flame disappeared, and the person emerged, it wasn’t Endymion.

“Sapphire!” We both exclaimed.

“Ssh,” he replied. “I don’t have much time before my great-great-great grandson arrives to retrieve you, Serenity. I’m assuming that Beryl has been defeated?”

“Yes, but I thought with her defeat that I was supposed to disappear too,” Serena replied.

“That was the original plan, but plans change.”

“So what am I supposed to do now? Stay down here?”

“No, you are no longer needed in hell,” he said stepping towards her. “Fate has another plan for you, Serena. But you have to come with me.”

“Go with you? But…” she trailed off and looked at me.

“Serena, don’t you trust me?”

She hesitated before she approached him. “Okay, let’s go.”

I watched all of this surprised. What exactly did fate have planned for her? And why did it involve Sapphire. “Wait,” I called out just as he put his hand on her shoulder. “Where are you taking her?”

Sapphire smiled and said, “Fate will be righted,” before disappearing with Serena in a wall of flame. I stared at where they had disappeared totally confused as to what just happened. I was also confused by what Sapphire had said. ‘Fate will be righted.’ What the hell was _that_ supposed to mean? It wasn’t like Serena was apart of fate anymore. She hadn’t been since she had died.

Realization finally hit though, when what had happened while I was in the world of the living came back to me. Technically, I wasn’t supposed to be with Endymion, but because I had died, fate had righted itself by sending me to hell where Endymion dwelled. Even though I had been meant for….

What Sapphire was doing struck me so hard that I lost consciousness.

* * *

When I woke up, I was back in the devil’s bedroom. Now how had I wound up here? The last thing I remember was… I closed my eyes again and tried to remember what had happened. Beryl had taken me to some unknown room and tried to torture my soul. But Serena and I had teamed up to defeat her, only Serena hadn’t disappeared. Instead Sapphire came to take her somewhere so that ‘fate could be righted.’ I had just figured out how when I had lost consciousness and Endymion must have found me and placed me here.

I thought back to what had made me passed out and groaned. Fate would be righted indeed. But this was just starting to get out of hand. Talk about the ultimate _Freaky Friday_. What was Sapphire thinking, doing this?

“Serenity?” Endymion’s voice snapped through my train of thought. I opened my eyes again and instantly found his deep azure blue ones. He was sitting next to me on the edge of the bed. I didn’t get a chance to say anything before he leaned over and kissed me. I kissed him back, even though I was surprised at first. I had really missed this. But too soon his lips left mine and I felt his forehead touch mine lightly.

“You have a lot of explaining to do,” he whispered.

I smiled, “I know. But I have an eternity to tell you about it.” I found his lips again and kissed him. We did have an eternity to tell each other everything, well, almost everything. And even though there were some things that I wasn’t happy with, I knew that they were out of my hands.

Besides I finally had my happy ending and I was hell bent on keeping it. No pun intended.

 


End file.
